Scarab Carved in Intaglio with a Pig-Man

Description The figure of a pig-headed man derives from the epic story "The Odyssey," which tells of Odysseus' visit to the island home of Circe, a sorceress who turned Odysseus' companions into swine. The stooping pose and hatched border of this carved intaglio scarab are typical Etruscan stylistic motifs. The kantharos balancing on the figure's knees likely contains the potion responsible for his transformation.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
8/29/1960	Examination	other

Exhibitions

• Heroes: Mortals and Myths in Ancient Greece. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville; San Diego Museum Of Art, San Diego; Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation (USA), New York. 2009-2011.

Provenance Sadie Jones (Mrs. Henry Walters), New York, 1931, by inheritance; Sale, Joseph Brummer, New York, 1942; Walters Art Museum, 1942, by purchase.

Credit Museum purchase, 1942