Bidspirit auction | A MIDDLE BYZANTINE AMETHYST INTAGLIO

A MIDDLE BYZANTINE AMETHYST INTAGLIO DEPICTING A HOLY FIGURE, 10TH - 12TH CENTURY - This oval amethyst intaglio depicts a frontal bust of a haloed holy figure, possibly a saint or an archangel. The figure is shown with distinctive tightly curled hair and a double-contoured nimbus, dressed in draped ecclesiastical or imperial robes. In the left hand, the figure holds a long-handled scepter topped with a cross, an attribute common in glyptic art from this period. L: 2.5cm