Lot 2
Ancient Mediterranean, Italic peoples, ca. 2nd to 1st century BCE. A dramatic Italic sard intaglio featuring the Greek mythological hero Ajax in the act of killing himself, all mounted in a Neoclassical gold ring to be wearable. Boasting a translucent shade of aubergine, the ovoid gem shows Ajax kneeling behind his shield as he thrusts his long sword into his abdomen. Nude save for a Corinthian helmet and cape, the hero hunches over in pain. All is surrounded by a hatched border. Size of intaglio: 0.5" L x 0.4" W (1.3 cm x 1 cm); of ring: 0.9" L x 0.8" W (2.3 cm x 2 cm); US ring size: 8.75; gold quality: 71.6% (equivalent to over 17 karats); weight: 3.5 grams
Ajax is a Greek mythological hero, the son of King Telamon and Periboea, and the half-brother of Teucer.[2] He plays an important role in the Trojan War, and is portrayed as a towering figure and a warrior of great courage in Homer's Iliad and in the Epic Cycle, a series of epic poems about the Trojan War, being second only to Achilles among Greek heroes of the war.
As the Iliad comes to a close, Ajax and the majority of other Greek warriors are alive and well. When Achilles dies, killed by Paris (with help from Apollo), Ajax and Odysseus are the heroes who fight against the Trojans to get the body and bury it with his companion, Patroclus. Ajax, with his great shield and spear, manages to recover the body and carry it to the ships, while Odysseus fights off the Trojans. After the burial, each claims Achilles' magical armor, which had been forged on Mount Olympus by the smith-god Hephaestus, for himself as recognition for his heroic efforts. A competition is held to determine who deserves the armor. Ajax argues that because of his strength and the fighting he has done for the Greeks, including saving the ships from Hector, and driving him off with a massive rock, he deserves the armor. However, Odysseus proves to be more eloquent, and with the aid of Athena, the council gives him the armor. Ajax, distraught by this result and "conquered by his own grief", plunges his sword into his own chest, killing himself. In the Little Iliad, Ajax goes mad with rage at Odysseus' victory and slaughters the cattle of the Greeks. After returning to his senses, he kills himself out of shame. The Belvedere Torso, a marble torso now in the Vatican Museums, is considered to depict Ajax "in the act of contemplating his suicide."
Provenance: ex-Dr. Corinne Bronfman estate, Washington D.C., USA, acquired via descent; ex-Marjorie Bronfman collection, Montreal, Canada, acquired March 31,1966
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#186699
- Condition: Ancient intaglio set in a Neoclassical ring to be wearable. Both ring and intaglio are intact and in excellent condition. Great remaining detail to intaglio.
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