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Roman silver plaquette with a gryllos motif RARE

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:2,500.00 USD Estimated At:2,500.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
Roman silver plaquette with a gryllos motif RARE
Roman silver plaquette with a gryllos motif. Late 3rd-early 4th century AD. Dia. 12 mm. Once mounted on top of an iron object, perhaps a support for a seal or a ring, which has since deteriorated, the circular silver plaquette depicts a marvelous intaglio rendition of a gryllos, composed of a bearded male head whose moustache develops into a bird, a theater mask, an eagle and the head of a lion; CONSTAN-T-I VIVES - "Live In Constancy" around the gryllos. Grylloi were fanciful puzzle-like designs which consisted of several individual heads joined into one. By looking at the design from different directions the viewer could isolate each head. The portrait of the man and the style of the lettering are closely comparable to coin emissions of the Tetrarachy and suggest that the intaglio work was executed by a die engraver. For a good introductory passage on grylloi, together with examples on intaglios bearing such images see Richter, Gems, p. 114, nos. 541 ff.

Excellently, only traces of the iron support remain.