Lot 112. An Egyptian gold necklace with medallion of Medusa, Roman period, circa 3rd century A.D.; medallion 6.4 cm diam. Price Realised GBP 20,160  (Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 15,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

Provenance: Antiquities, Sotheby's, London, 26 November 1968, lot 58.
James (1914-1990) and Marilynn (1925-2019) Alsdorf, Chicago, acquired from the above.
The Property of a Lady; Antiquities, Christie's, New York, 14 June 1996, lot 55.
Paris art market, acquired from the above.
with Ariadne Galleries, New York.
Acquired by the current owner from the above, 2011.

Literature: K. Alexander and M. Greuel, Private Taste in Ancient Rome: Selections from Chicago Collections, Chicago, 1990, no. 41.
C. Dauphin, Animals in the Ancient World: The Levett Bestiary, Mougins, 2014, pp. 78, 106.
C. Dauphin, Les animaux dans le monde antique: Le bestiaire Levett, Mougins, 2016, pp. 73, 95, fig. 77.

Exhibited: The Art Institute of Chicago, Private Taste in Ancient Rome: Selections from Chicago Collections, 3 March - 16 September 1990.
Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins, 2011-2023 (Inv. no. MMoCA676).

Note: The large central medallion features a repousse facing head of Medusa. Necklaces of this sort were common during the Roman period in Egypt. The type is frequently worn by women on funerary portraiture. For a similar necklace in The British Museum, see S. Walker and M. Bierbrier, Ancient Faces - Mummy Portraits from Roman Egypt, London, 1997, p. 172, no. 212,

Christie's. Works of Art from the Mougins Museum of Classical Art, Online, London, 10 December 2024