A finely carved ancient Roman amethyst intaglio depicting centaur advancing to the left. The centaur is holding onto a smaller figure, with a spear depicted in the background. This pairing could indicate that this is a representation of Chiron and his hero-student Achilles. The addition of a laurel wreath on top of the centaur's head supports such reading. The reverse is highly polished and undecorated. Some minor scratches to the piece as consistent with its age. 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 1.6cm x W 1.2cm Provenance: From the collection of a Swiss gentleman formed in Europe from 1970-1980s; thence by descent from the family in London.