Round blue jasper medallion with white relief profile portrait of Thrasybulus (440-388BC) facing right, He was an Athenian general and democratic leader. His public career began in 411 BC, when he frustrated oligarchic rising in Samos . Elected general by the troops, he effected the recall of Alcibiades, a former general accused of having profaned the hermae of Athens. and assisted him in several successful naval campaigns. In 404, when exiled by the Thirty , he retired to Thebes. In the following winter with 70 men, he seized Phyle, a hill fort on Mt. Parnes near Athens. His supporters soon grew so with 1,000 men, he repelled an attack by the oligarchs. In autumn 403, following skirmishes with a Spartan expedition under King Pausanias, a reconciliation was effected and democracy was restored.

Thrasybulus

Wedgwood

19th Century

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Large porcelain snuffbox and cover, oval and painted all around the exterior with sprays and sprigs of flowers, the interior of the cover rim with a family scene in a landscape, the rim and cover rim with a contemporary hinged copper-gilt mount.
Round box with painting of a woman on the lid.
Rectangular dark blue jasper cameo blank
Small, delicate civilian dress sword of cut steel set with blue and white Wedgwood jasperware medallions and small plaques, the narrow blade of flattened steel is lavishly decorated with engraved scroll-and-bandwork, the hilt is decorated with cut steel beads and floral motifs and is set on both sides of the grip, pommel, knuckle guard, and shell guard with classically-themed jasper – a total of 10 medallions and small plaques; the grip tapers at both ends and holds a large oval medallion in the center on each side (unidentified classical figure; Hebe and the Eagle); the pommel is urn shaped with medallions on each side (Euterpe and unidentified classical figure); the knuckle guard curves around and terminates in a floral motif and contains on each side a central plaque (Neptune; unidentified classical figure), the shell guard is likewise set with four medallions, two on each side (Ganymede and the Eagle; Cupid and Psyche; classical figures).