A ROMAN SARDONYX CAMEO PORTRAIT OF THE EMPEROR CLAUDIUS - photo 1
A ROMAN SARDONYX CAMEO PORTRAIT OF THE EMPEROR CLAUDIUS - photo 2

A ROMAN SARDONYX CAMEO PORTRAIT OF THE EMPEROR CLAUDIUS

Sold
$ 2 107 000
Auction dateClassic
11.10.2023 18:00UTC -04:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
USA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1027471
Lot 1 | A ROMAN SARDONYX CAMEO PORTRAIT OF THE EMPEROR CLAUDIUS
A ROMAN SARDONYX CAMEO PORTRAIT OF THE EMPEROR CLAUDIUS

CIRCA 41-54 A.D.; THE MOUNT ATTRIBUTED TO DANIEL MIGNOT, AUGSBURG, CIRCA 1593-1596

2 7/8 in. (7.2 cm.) long, the cameo

3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm.) long, the mount





Provenance

Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Arundel (1586-1646), Arundel House, London; thence by descent to his wife, Aletheia Talbot Howard (1585-1654), Arundel House, London; thence by gift to her son, Henry Frederick Howard, 22nd Earl of Arundel (1608-1652), Arundel House, London; thence by descent to his son, Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk (1628-1684), Arundel House, London; thence by descent to his widow, Jane Bickerton Howard (1643-1693), Arundel House, London.

Henry Mordant, 2nd Earl of Peterborough (1621-1697), Drayton House, Northamptonshire, acquired from the above, by 1690; thence by descent to his daughter, Lady Mary Mordant (1659-1705), Drayton House, Northamptonshire; thence by descent to her husband, Sir John Germain (1650-1718), Drayton House, Northamptonshire; thence by descent to his second wife, Lady Elizabeth Germain (1680-1769), Knole House, Kent; thence by descent to her great-niece, Mary Beauclerk (1743-1812), England, given to her on the occasion of her marriage to Charles Spencer (1740-1820), 1762.

George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough (1739-1817), Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, gifted from the above, circa 1765; thence by descent to his son, George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough (1766-1840), Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire; thence by descent to his son, George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough (1793–1857), Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire; thence by descent to his son, John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough (1822-1883), Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire.

The Marlborough Gems: Being a Collection of Works in Cameo and Intaglio Formed by George, Third Duke of Marlborough, Christie's, London, 28 June-1 July 1875, lot 422.

David Bromilow (1809-1898), Bitteswell Hall, Leicestershire, acquired from the above; thence by descent to his daughter, Julia Harriet Mary Jary, Bitteswell Hall, Leicestershire.

The Marlborough Gems: A Collection of Works in Cameo and Intaglio Formed by George, Third Duke of Marlborough, Purchased by the Late David Bromilow, Esq., of Bitteswell Hall, Lutterworth, the Property of Mrs. Jary, Christie's, London, 26-29 June 1899, lot 422.

C. Davis, acquired from the above (according to auctioneer’s book).

Probably collected by Baron Alphonse de Rothschild (1827–1905) or Baron Gustave Samuel de Rothschild (1829-1911), Paris; thence by descent to Baron Édouard de Rothschild (1868-1949).

Confiscated from the above by the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg following the Nazi occupation in Paris after May 1940 (ERR no. R 2369).

Recovered by the Monuments Fine Arts and Archives Section from the Altaussee salt mines, Austria, and transferred to the Munich Central Collecting Point, 28 June 1946 (MCCP no. 1371/17).

Returned to France on 11 July 1946 and restituted to the Rothschild family.

By descent to the present owners.



Literature

18th century manuscript of the Arundel Collection, no. D9 (1), as “Caput Britanici laureatum.”

A. Fountaine, The Arundel Cabinet, London, 1731, p. 8, case D, no. 9.

C.W. King, “Notices of Collections of Glyptic Art Exhibited by the Archaeological Institute in June, 1861,” The Archaeological Journal, vol. 19, 1862, p. 19, no. 301.

The Marlborough Gems, manuscript album and photographs, 1875, pls. 10.9-10.10.

N. Story-Maskelyne, The Marlborough Gems: Being a Collection of Works in Cameo and Intaglio Formed by George, Third Duke of Marlborough, London, 1870, p. 72, no. 422.

C. Newton-Robinson, "The Marlborough Gems," The Nineteenth Century, vol. 46, August 1899, p. 254.

D. Scarisbrick, “The Arundel Gem Cabinet,” Apollo, vol. 144, August 1996, pp. 45-46, fig. 1.

J. Boardman, et al., The Marlborough Gems, Formerly at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, London, 2009, p. 58, no. 61; pp. 316-317.



Exhibited

London, Archaeological Institute, Exhibition of Works of Glyptic Art, June 1861.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
07.10.2023 10:00 – 17:00
08.10.2023 13:00 – 17:00
09.10.2023 10:00 – 17:00
10.10.2023 10:00 – 17:00
11.10.2023 10:00 – 17:00
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.