GREEK HELLENISTIC GOLD RING WITH STAG INTAGLIO 2nd-1st century BC A D-section gold hoop with hollow flared bezel, inset carnelian cabochon with intaglio motif of an advancing stag on a baseline. 15 grams, 25mm overall, 19.25mm internal diameter (approximate size British S, USA 9 1/4, Europe 20.38, Japan 19) (1"). Extremely fine condition. A large wearable size. Provenance Private collection, London, UK; formed 1970s-1980s. Footnotes The deer was sacred to the goddess Artemis and can be seen standing either side of her cult image at the temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Callimachus, in his Hymn to Artemis, describes the goddess riding in a chariot pulled by deer. Two tales of Artemis tell of her wrath and retribution visited upon those who trespassed into her domain. By controlling the weather she kept King Agamemnon's fleet bound for Troy confined to port, to avenge the killing of a stag sacred to her. Another hunter, Acteon, used a stag's pelt to sneak up on Artemis whilst she was bathing in the forest. As punishment for seeing her naked, she changed him into a stag and sent him back into the woods to be hunted down and killed by his own hounds. Other woodland goddesses, such as Diana, the Roman equivalent of Artemis, were similarly associated with deer and their perceived qualities of gracefulness and swiftness.
GREEK HELLENISTIC GOLD RING WITH STAG INTAGLIO 2nd-1st century BC A D-section gold hoop with hollow flared bezel, inset carnelian cabochon with intaglio motif of an advancing stag on a baseline. 15 grams, 25mm overall, 19.25mm internal diameter (approximate size British S, USA 9 1/4, Europe 20.38, Japan 19) (1"). Extremely fine condition. A large wearable size. Provenance Private collection, London, UK; formed 1970s-1980s. Footnotes The deer was sacred to the goddess Artemis and can be seen standing either side of her cult image at the temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Callimachus, in his Hymn to Artemis, describes the goddess riding in a chariot pulled by deer. Two tales of Artemis tell of her wrath and retribution visited upon those who trespassed into her domain. By controlling the weather she kept King Agamemnon's fleet bound for Troy confined to port, to avenge the killing of a stag sacred to her. Another hunter, Acteon, used a stag's pelt to sneak up on Artemis whilst she was bathing in the forest. As punishment for seeing her naked, she changed him into a stag and sent him back into the woods to be hunted down and killed by his own hounds. Other woodland goddesses, such as Diana, the Roman equivalent of Artemis, were similarly associated with deer and their perceived qualities of gracefulness and swiftness.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
