RARE AGATE CUP

Ca. 17th century AD or earlier, possibly Roman . A finely carved agate cup with a deep rounded body tapering gently towards a narrow base, continuously curved sides, a broad straight rim with a thickened lip, and a plain interior. Following the scholarly approach established by Dario Del Bufalo, a leading authority on ancient agate vessels, in his monograph Murrina Vasa: A Luxury of Imperial Rome (2016), the cup is attributed to the Roman period or the 17th century. This cautious attribution acknowledges the possibility of an ancient Roman vessel subsequently re-carved or extensively re-polished during the 17th century, whilst also allowing for the less likely possibility of its manufacture entirely within that later period. This classification reflects a deliberately conservative, academically grounded approach to the object's dating and interpretation. For similar see: Dario Del Bufalo, Murrina Vasa: A Luxury of Imperial Rome, Rome, L’Erma di Bretschneider, 2016, Bibliotheca Archaeologica 54, Cat. 195. Size: 110mm x 110mm; Weight: 640g Provenance: Prince Collection, 1990s–2014; Ex. Fraysse & Associes, 6 June 2012,164. This item has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database and comes with a confirmation letter. This piece is accompanied by a historical report from Alessandro Neri, an international Cultural Heritage expert based in Florence, Italy.

Estimate:$2,679.04

View all items fromApollo Art AuctionsorGlass