An etruscan intaglio on a burnt carnelian scarab, mounted in an ancient gold seal. Mythological scene. A standing male character is leaning on a knobby wooden stick with his right hand (Hercules with club?), waving a lash, with the left one, towards a shorter character; the latter has a hand to the hip and hands out a bag/water bottle with the other one. Ground line. A hatched frame around the border. A rare iconography, still to be identified. Interesting composition, skilfully engraved. Globular elements. The stone has anciently been subjected to alteration (due to heat), and shows a crack running through the whole thickness of the artifact, the which is anyway still entire. Coeval seal mounting, showing a threadlike decoration, intertwined in its endings. Rare. For comparisons: Boardman, Intaglios and rings. Greek, etruscan and eastern. From a private collection, p. 107 n. 149-152; G.M.A Richter, Catalogue of engraved gems. Greek, Etruscan and Roman (The Metropolitan Museum of Art- New York), p. 52 n. 212. 4th century B.C.
intaglio 12 x 16 x 8 mm; gr. 4,30.