Intaglio with the Head of Athena Set in a Pin

Description This intaglio depicts the helmeted head of the goddess Athena in profile to the left. She is wearing the helmet type of the Athena Parthenos, a gold and ivory statue carved by the sculptor Pheidias for the Parthenon in Athens in the 5th century BCE.

Provenance Henry Walters, New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Sadie Jones (Mrs. Henry Walters), New York, 1931, by inheritance; Mrs. Henry Walters Sale, Joseph Brummer, New York, 1942; Walters Art Museum, 1942, by purchase.

Credit Museum purchase, 1942