Bidspirit Auktion | HELLENISTIC WHITE CHALCEDONY STAMP SEAL

HELLENISTIC WHITE CHALCEDONY STAMP SEAL WITH PEGASUS - Ca. 300-100 BC.A stunning square white chalcedony stamp seal depicting a pegasus and two stars. This beautifully crafted seal depicts the famous winged horse with considerable attention to detail, including a twisted mane and tail and delicate wings that heave upward as if in flight. This effect is enhanced by the placement of the hooves, dangling below the horse as if suspended. The back of the seal tapers into a small handle. Pegasus, the son of Poseidon and Medusa, sprang out of his mother when the Greek hero Perseus cut off her head. Pegasus was tamed by the hero Bellerophon, who flew on the horse to kill the monstrous Chimera. The motif of a Pegasus with two stars is often associated with Mithridates IV Eupator, whose later great exploits were said to have been signalled by the appearance of two comets at his birth (Justin. 37.2.1-2). The imagery frequently appeared on the coinage of the dynast. Size: 23mm x 18.5mm; Weight: 7.21g Provenance: From an important London collection of S.A.; previously in a Central London, Mayfair gallery; originally obtained from an old British collection formed in the 1980s.