- Ulf R. Hansson –
Figure 51.11 Cornelian scarab. Centaur. A globolo technique. Third century bce. London, British
Museum, inv. GR 1862.6-4.15 © Trustees of the British Museum.technique and and resulting formal vagueness were probably deliberate ways of adapting
to an ever-expanding market, whose specifi c demands and tastes had to be anticipated.
The fi nal decision on the specifi c identity of a fi gure depicted could be left to the future
owner of the gem. Some scholars want to place the production of these works in non-
Etruscan, Italic workshops, and it is very likely that engravers working in this style were
active in or catered to customers in other regions of Italy as well. But the fact remains
that there is considerable thematic continuity between the Etruscan scarab production
of the fi fth and fourth centuries bce and the a globolo scarabs, where this established
repertory is expanded to include images of chariots and equestrians, man-and-animal
scenes, and various winged fi gures which are all less frequent on earlier gems. A variety of
animals and monsters such as horses, deer, hares, dogs, birds, dolphins, Geryon, Pegasus,
Kerberos, Chimaera, Scylla, giants, tritons, centaurs, griffi ns, harpies, sirens, sphinxes,
and hippocamps are also new additions more or less confi ned to this class of gems. Of
the identifi able fi gures, Herakles remains the most popular by far. He is depicted sailing
on an amphora raft, collecting water from a spring or fountain, mastering animals or
monsters like the Lion, the Hind, or Kerberos, or just standing or resting. At times he is
replaced by a satyr performing the same characteristic actions. Other recognizable fi gures
include Hyakinthos riding on a swan or driving a swan biga, the collapsing Kapaneus
with the thunderbolt of Zeus, the brooding Achilles, Ajax committing suicide, Phaeton
on the sun biga, Hermes psychopompos, Poseidon/Nethuns with his trident, Phalanthos/
Taras riding on the dolphin, and Theseus with his father’s sword. But these fi gures are no
longer named, as a globolo gems with inscriptions are extremely rare – most of them are
probably modern additions.
The beetles of the a globolo scarabs are highly standardized, winglets are now mostly
hinted at by one to three diagonal grooves; in the late phase of production, the legs
become reduced to a few incised lines, the plinth decoration disappears, and the common
hatched border surrounding the intaglio device is replaced with a simple line or is
omitted altogether. But the stones remain highly polished, the bold design of the device
creating an attractive play of light.
RingstonesThe new important class of gems constituted by ringstones intended to be set, immobile,
in metal fi nger-rings has much in common with the scarabs of the Early and Late Classical