A fine Ancient Roman banded agate intaglio featuring a representation of a Gryllos. The intaglio is oval in shape with a trapezoid profile and a flat reverse. The obverse has been carved with a creature with a large head advancing left on bird legs, long beard and nose, wearing a curving helmet with a cockerel-head finial with drips falling from its nose. The reverse is smooth and unadorned. The agate displays beautiful orange and cream tones. Signs of wear as consistent with age such as minor scratches and pitting to the obverse. Minor chipping to the edges. This piece is supplied with a museum-quality impression. Please note, this is a small intaglio. Please check dimensions provided. 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. The subject used for intaglios are diverse, with depictions of deities and mythical creatures being a favourite theme. Combinations of human heads and animal parts are known as grylloi (γρύλλοι). While being an amusing and favoured decorative motif, grylloi served apotropaic functions to ward off the evils. As explained by Plutarch in the Quaestiones Convivales, they had the ability to “attract the evil eye and thus lessens its force against its victims”. Measurements: (circa) L 0.9cm x W 0.6cm Provenance: From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.