92 - ANCIENT GREEK EGYPTIANISING GOLD AND GEM-SET RING

ANCIENT GREEK EGYPTIANISING GOLD AND GEM-SET RING EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN, C. 2ND - 1ST CENTURY B.C. the gold band with a central garnet forming a solar disc motif, with feathers above fashioned from two black stone insets, flanked by applied serpent forms in gold, the band further adorned with inset green and red gems, pearls, beaded borders and granulation Ring size: N (UK), 6.5 (US) Provenance: New York art market, 1989; Private collection, United Kingdom, acquired from the above; Christie's, London, 7th December 2022, Antiquities: Including Ancient Engraved Gems Formerly in the G. Sangiorgi Collection Part IV, lot 73; Private collection, United Kingdom, acquired from the above Following Alexander the Great’s conquest of Egypt in 332 BC, Egyptian religious imagery became increasingly integrated into Hellenistic Greek art and jewellery. Such influences are clear in the present piece, where the ring is embellished with an Egyptianising motif comprising a central solar disc flanked by a pair of feathers. A close parallel is provided by a pair of Hellenistic gold earrings in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (object number 1995.539.11a, b), in which a translucent stone represents the solar disc and twin feathers are rendered in opaque black and white glass.