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An extremely fine half-barrel carnelian with an exquisite Classical Greek intaglio, depicting the moment before combat between a drakōn and a rooster - 5th century BC.
In ancient Greece, the rooster was a symbol of agôn or competitive struggle. The Metropolitan Museum has an Attic amphora from 570–560 BC on which two warriors fight on one side and two roosters confront one another on the other, noting that the two subjects can be regarded as complementary.
The 2nd century Greek author Aelian tells the story that, before battle, Themistocles pointed out fighting cocks to his soldiers, observing that the birds fought simply because neither would submit to the other. The episode was supposedly commemorated in annual Athenian cockfights. This shows us how Greeks understood the image of a rooster: unyielding courage and refusal to be defeated.
Aelian also said that "the deadly basilisk fears the cock: it trembles at the sight of one and dies when it hears the cock crow". The basilisk was a type of drakōn or mythical serpent, possibly based upon the spitting cobra.
This remarkable sliced barrel carnelian features a drakōn specifically - the protrusion below the head is a 'beard', opposed by a crest just behind the head. The dramatic scene is poised at the moment just before combat - a composition beloved in late Archaic and early Classical art for its contained tension.
The gem is soon to be reborn in a remarkable one-of-a-kind jewel. Contact to enquire.
