Getty Museum

Engraved Gem with a Youth and his Dog inset into a Hollow Ring

Date

3rd–2nd century B.C.

Medium

Ring: gold; gem: cornelian

Culture

Italic

Department

Jewelry

Institution

Getty Museum

A nude youth leaning on a staff bends over to feed his dog on this Italic gem set into a hollow gold ring. The hatched border surrounding the scene and the use of small, drilled holes for details are typical for Italic gems of this period, as is the shape of the ring itself. The motif of a youth and his dog can be found on both Archaic Greek gems and Etruscan scarabs, and its appearance here is termed Archaistic, that is, intentionally old-fashioned.

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