Height: 5 cm

Provenance: 

With Lincoln Higgie, Chicago, 1980s

UK private collection, acquired from the above

Literature:

The ancient Greek goddess of the hunt and the moon is superbly carved in miniature form. She is shown in the form known as ‘Artemis Venetrix’ (the huntress'), cf. L. Kahil, 'Artemis,' Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae II, Zurich, 1984.

She is shown in movement, wearing a chiton with a long overfold, billowing out behind her, with her right breast exposed and her quiver on her back, running forwards, right leg in front, her right arm extended.

The Artemis Venatrix type is thought to be based on a Hellenistic original (see p. 292 in Ridgway, Hellenistic Sculpture I, The Styles of ca. 331-200 B.C.). It is known in nearly thirty Roman copies, and may be associated with the Attalid dedications in Athens and Pergamon, however it is extremely rare to find a Hellenistic example, particularly in silver, and although fragmentary, this miniature masterpiece demonstrates the extraordinary skill of the sculptor.