A dark purple glass impression set in gilted metal fob seal. Hermaprodite and Salmace.

18th - 19th ...

A dark purple glass impression set in gilted metal fob seal. Hermaprodite and Salmace.

18th - 19th century.

Glass 19 x 25 mm; H. 31 mm; 8.04 gr.

Naked Hermaphroditus, frontal and turned to the right, holding the nymph Salmace in his arms, naked and turned to the left; below, water and baseline. Chip on the edge and wear marks. The glass impression is taken from an intaglio attributable to Pichler. In the medals Cabinet of the Sforzesco castle in Milan there is a red sulfur taken from an intaglio with the same subject, signed Pichler. The subject is described in Ovid's Metamorphoses and in later times painted by the Carraccis. The intaglio by Pichler was inspired by a lost painting by Ludovico Carracci. Parallel: G. Tassinari, Giovanni Pichler. Raccolta di impronte di intagli e di cammei del Gabinetto Numismatico e Medagliere delle Raccolte Artistiche del Castello Sforzesco di Milano, p. 169 ss.

Provenance: UK private collection.