An italic banded agate intaglio. A warrior consults an oracle.
3rd - 2nd century B.C.
10 x 12 x 2 mm

A naked warrior armed with a sword turns to an oracle offering a sacrifice: with his left hand he holds a short sword, with his right hand a spherical element (globe, fruit); with the right forearm it supports a mantle. The character turns to a rectangular altar on which a column is raised around which a snake intertwines (sacred animal of oracular ambit). Dotted frame near the edge. Italic "Etruscan" style. Use of globular elements. Interesting rendering of anatomical details. Slight wear marks. Attractive stone color.
Parallel: G. M. Richter, Catalog of engraved gems. Greek, Etruscan and Roman, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, plate XXXIV n. 227.