A fine renaissance amethyst intaglio. Mask of Pan with motto

16th century A.D.

15 x 20 x 7 mm

This impressive frontal effigy of Pan is engraved with a very deep excavation on an amethyst stone of a particularly vivid and bright color. The facial features are typical ones inspired by ancient models (cf. The "Rubens vase", agate, 4th century A.D., Walters Museum inv. 42.562, and the mask of pan sculpted in ancient marble statues and reliefs) but the Michelangelo style seems unequivocal present and particularly strong here. The face is characterized by the typical somatic features of Pan, masterfully engraved with great art and technical skill, with an almost three-dimensional high relief effect. The anatomical details are rendered in an almost virtuosic way, with particular attention to the folds of the face due to the corrugated and almost diabolical expression of the character. The nose is curved, the almond-shaped eyes bent under the corrugated orbital arch, the mouth slightly open in a lascivious smile, the goat horns stand out from the thick hair, the long and finely chiseled beard. Portrait almost alive in its expressiveness. All the details are extremely mirror polished. Around the mask, on the edge: latin motto " HUNC DEUS NOS IUNXIT " ("this god united us"). This inscription, referring to the engraved subject, seems to allude as a pledge of love and passion: this emblem of carnal and feral love, of sexual impetus, unites who gave and who received this erotic seal.



U.K., private collection 70's, London.