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Engraved Scaraboid with Athena (Front)

Unknown

The J. Paul Getty Museum

The J. Paul Getty Museum
Los Angeles, United States

This scaraboid is engraved with an image of Athena, standing left with her left hand on her hip and her right holding a spear, with its point down. She wears a crested helmet pushed back to expose her face, and a peplos marked with thick, vertical pleats.

A scaraboid is a simplified scarab, with a plain curved back and an intaglio design decorating the flat underside. The form gradually replaced the scarab in Greece in the 400s B.C. Like scarabs, they were typically pierced and worn either as a ring or pendant. When attached to a metal hoop and worn as a ring, the curved side faced out and the intaglio surface rested against the finger. When needed as a seal, the ring was removed, the gem swiveled, and the intaglio design was pressed into soft clay or wax to identify and secure property.

Details

  • Title: Engraved Scaraboid with Athena (Front)
  • Creator: Unknown
  • Date Created: about 500 B.C.
  • Physical Dimensions: 0.7 × 1.3 × 1 cm (1/4 × 1/2 × 3/8 in.)
  • Type: Gem
  • External Link: Find out more about this object on the Museum website.
  • Medium: Rock crystal
  • Terms of Use: Open Content
  • Number: 81.AN.76.12
  • Culture: Greek
  • Credit Line: The J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu, California
  • Creator Display Name: Unknown
  • Classification: Jewelry

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