CIRCA 18TH CENTURY

Engraved on this gem is a satyr, wearing an animal skin, who surprises a crouching woman at her bath; behind him is a column surmounted by a lidded vase. This subject, exact down to the minutest detail, is known from an impression, in reverse, taken by Tommaso Cades, who was commissioned in 1829 by the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut in Rome to document important gem collections. Photographs of his 53-volume publication, titled Impronte Gemmarie dell'Instituto, are viewable on the Beazley Archive Gem Database. For the impression in question, see no. 12.II.A.515. The gem is mounted as a swivel ring in an 18th-19th century gold setting.