J. Paul Getty Museum acquires rare first century carved gem
The J. Paul Getty Museum recently acquired at auction a rare first-century carved gem depicting a seated nude woman and standing nude man, likely the goddess Aphrodite and her lover, Adonis.
![]() |
Intaglio on sard, Roman, 1st century AD [Credit: Sotheby's] |
“The gem’s superb quality, impressive size, and excellent condition will enhance our holdings of engraved gems, one of the strengths of the Museum’s antiquities collection,” said Timothy Potts, director of the Getty Museum. “It will go on view in the Villa’s reinstalled galleries alongside other engraved gems, including our amethyst Apollo attributed to the engraver Solon and the engraved gem of the head of Demosthenes signed by Apelles.”
![]() |
Intaglio of head of Demosthenes signed by Apelles [Credit: Getty Museum] |
It joins several other significant recent Museum acquisitions: another Roman gem of the first century B.C. engraved with the image of Herakles Carrying the Cretan Bull signed by the artist Moschos; Portrait of the Sculptor Roland (1797), a painting by Franςois-André Vincent (1746 -1816); A Shaded Avenue, a drawing of about 1774 by French artist Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732 -1806); A Regatta on the Grand Canal, a drawing from about 1778 by Italian artist Francesco Guardi (1712 -1793); and two late Classical style black-glaze vases from Southern Italy.
Source: J. Paul Getty Museum [December 20, 2016]
Post A Comment
No comments :