XXVII. An Intaglio of Antinous, under the Figure of Mercury, upon a Cornelian, explained by Mr. Bowman

Abstract

In the Strozzi collection at Rome, there is an Intaglio upon a Cornelian, of a Mercury, with his Caduceus in his left hand, while his right is raised towards his mouth in a very pensive attitude. Lord Essex bought the stone from the present D. Strozzi, the Pope's nephew, and Captain of his Guards, who is so extravagant and and expensive in his pleasures, that he is thought to have sold some of the real antiques, and substituted copies by Costranza in their room, for which reason the Duchess his mother shews them in person. This stone was given to Sir Hugh Smithson (now his Grace the Duke of Northumberland) by Lord Essex; and from various circumstances appears to be the original itself, for which it was bought, upon the opinion of the best connoisseurs in Rome at that time. It must be owned, that Costranza copies antiques with great accuracy, as may be judged from one of his Medusa's; but here the workmanship, considering the sweetness of the original, has a very different air from our Mercury, which is upon a stone round in the back, without much transparency, such as he never chuses for shewing his work; nor does the Greek word behind the figure look to be modern: It is antinooc, which shews the Mercury to be intended for Adrian's favourite.