Not currently on display at the V&A

Wolf and ibex or goat

Intaglio
ca. 150-250 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The art of engraving gemstones can be traced back to ancient Greece in the 8th century BC and earlier. Techniques passed down to the Egyptians and then to the Romans. There were major revivals of interest in engraved gems in Europe during the Byantine era, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and again in the 18th and 19th centuries. At each stage cameos and intaglios, these skillful carvings on a minute scale, were much prized and collected, sometimes as symbols of power mounted in jewelled settings, sometimes as small objects for private devotion or enjoyment. This intaglio seal stone, dating from the second or third century after the birth of Christ, was made in the eastern part of the Roman empire, probably in modern-day Iraq. Hunting was an important part of life, depicted on silver vessels as well as engraved gems. Subjects such as men fighting animals or, as here, beasts preying on each other, were popular.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleWolf and ibex or goat (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Engraved gemstone; Translucent orange-red carnelian. Set in silver-gilt ring
Brief description
Intaglio, circular carnelian, set in silver-gilt ring, depicting a wolf leaping over an ibex or goat, Sassanian (Iraq), about 150-250
Physical description
Circular intaglio. Depicting a long-eared animal, probably a wolf, leaping to right over a horned animal, probably an ibex or goat, which is lying beneath it.
Dimensions
  • Approximate diameter: 11mm
Exact dimensions obscured by setting
Object history
Ex Waterton Collection. Edmund Waterton (1830-87) is referred to as one of a group of 'pioneer collectors' by Diana Scarisbrick, 'C.D.E. Fortnum as a collector of rings and gems', C.D.E. Fortnum and the collecting and study of applied arts and sculpture in Victorian England, Ed: Ben Thomas and Timothy Wilson, 1999. His collection of approximately 760 rings, formed with the aim of illustrating the history of rings of all period and types, was acquired by the Museum in 1871 and 1899. Waterton, in 1868 'of Walton Castle, near Wakefield, in the county of York, but now residing at Ostend in the Kingdom of Belgium', got into financial difficulties, and was later to be declared bankrupt. The collection of rings was held as security against a loan by the jeweller Robert Phillips for two years from March of that year. The loan was to be repaid by Waterton by March 1870, but the deadline was not met. Phillips having first contacted the Museum regarding the possible purchase of the rings in 1869, the purchase was recommended by the Board of the Museum in a minute of 20 April 1871. The majority of the rings are held in Metalwork Section, a small number in Sculpture Section.

Historical significance: Professor Sir John Boardman, who examined this gem in 2009, is of the opinion that it is early Sassanian, second or third century AD. It can be compared with Martin Henig, Classical Gems. Ancient and Modern Intaglios and Cameos in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, 1994, nos. 440-2, pp. 198-9.
Historical context
Engraved gemstones of all dates were widely collected in Italy in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Many were brought back by British Grand Tourists, and important collections were formed.
Production
Attribution note: Orange-red translucent chalcedony
Subjects depicted
Summary
The art of engraving gemstones can be traced back to ancient Greece in the 8th century BC and earlier. Techniques passed down to the Egyptians and then to the Romans. There were major revivals of interest in engraved gems in Europe during the Byantine era, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and again in the 18th and 19th centuries. At each stage cameos and intaglios, these skillful carvings on a minute scale, were much prized and collected, sometimes as symbols of power mounted in jewelled settings, sometimes as small objects for private devotion or enjoyment. This intaglio seal stone, dating from the second or third century after the birth of Christ, was made in the eastern part of the Roman empire, probably in modern-day Iraq. Hunting was an important part of life, depicted on silver vessels as well as engraved gems. Subjects such as men fighting animals or, as here, beasts preying on each other, were popular.
Bibliographic references
  • List of Objects in the Art Division, South Kensington, Acquired During the Year 1871, Arranged According to the Dates of Acquisition. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., p. 46
  • Machell Cox, E., Victoria & Albert Museum Catalogue of Engraved Gems. London, Typescript, 1935, Part 2, Section 2, p. 298
Collection
Accession number
578-1871

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdOctober 20, 2004
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest