A fine carved ancient Greek carnelian intaglio depicting a nude, kneeling woman holding onto a smaller figure. The scene could be a depiction of Kassandra, the daughter of the Trojan king Priam, cursed with the ability to see the future, yet unable to make others believe her. Here she is portrayed kneeling before and clinging onto the Palladion, the cult statue of Athena in Troy, asking for protection. The reverse is highly polished and undecorated. The carnelian presents a beautiful deep red colour. This piece is supplied with a museum-quality impression. The term intaglio refers to a small image that has been engraved into a gemstone and usually set in a piece of jewellery, most commonly a ring. Such artistic form has its origin in Sumer in the 4th millennium BC, with the appearance of cylinder and stamp seals, whereby decorations and patterns were engraved into soft stones. During the Hellenistic period and the early Roman Empire, the art of intaglio reached its apogee, with there being a steady decline in craftsmanship in the late Imperial Rome, until a revival of interest with the Byzantine and during the Renaissance. Measurements: L 1.7cm x W 1.3cm Provenance: From the collection of a Swiss gentleman formed in Europe from 1970-1980s; thence by descent from the family in London.