Intaglio with Aeneas Escaping Troy Set in a Ring

The scene on this intaglio depicts Aeneas escaping Troy with his father, Anchises, and son, Ascanius. He carries his father on his right shoulder and leads his son with his left hand. Anchises carries a box containing the Penates, which are sacred objects, perhaps statuettes of deities. Ascanius wears a short tunic and pointed cap while holding a lagobolon (hooked stick) in his left hand.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

George Spencer, fourth Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, by 1817, [mode of acquisition unknown] [Marlborough no. 345]; George Spencer-Churchill, fifth Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, 1817, by bequest; George Spencer-Churchill, sixth Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, 1840, by bequest; John Spencer-Churchill, seventh Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, 1857, by bequest; Sale, The Marlborough Gems, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 28 June 1875, p. 56, lot 345; David Bromilow, Bitteswell Hall, Leicestershire, ca. 1875, by purchase; Julia Bromilow Jary, Bitteswell Hall, Leicestershire, 1898, by bequest; Sale, The Marlborough Gems Purchased by the Late David Bromilow, esq., Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 26 June 1899, p. 64, lot 345; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1899, by purchase [Dikran Kelekian as agent]; Sadie Jones (Mrs. Henry Walters), New York, 1931, by bequest; Joseph Brummer, Paris and New York, 1941, by purchase [Brummer inv. no. N5143a]; Walters Art Museum, 1942, by purchase.