Description
Large carved Carnelian Intaglio of a bearded man, a Greek or Roman philosopher.
Possibly Roman Period but also likely a work of the Italian Renaissance, that can be dated to the mid15th/ early16th century, this beautiful carved intaglio offers a unique opportunity to acquire a genuine gem with excellent provenance from the famed Willem Bastiaan Blok Collection, Netherlands, 1980s-1990s.
The Renaissance revived antiquity in every sense, the artists and all the literati studied and unabashedly imitated the works of the ancient Greeks and the Romans. With this interesting intaglio we have the portrait of a Greek philosopher or a poet, possibly Homer.
The workmanship is similar and so close to the work found on ancient Roman intaglio that we have to decide on the time period for its creation of a number of other criteria, such as exact shape, size, subject and engraving techniques.
Size: 1 ¼ inches.
