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THE PROPERTY OF A EUROPEAN GENTLEMAN
FOUR ROMAN "MAGIC" GEMS
CIRCA 3RD-4TH CENTURY A.D.
Details
FOUR ROMAN "MAGIC" GEMS
CIRCA 3RD-4TH CENTURY A.D.
Each double-sided, one of black jasper, one side engraved with a draped goddess, perhaps Isis, standing between two winged deities, each holding a standard, on a groundline, Greek inscriptions in the field, the other side with two standing deities, perhaps the Dioscuri, their heads surmounted by a disk, standing on either side of a flaming altar, a crescent moon and stars above, on a groundline, inscriptions in the field, an inscription on the beveled edge; one of yellow jasper, one side engraved with an ithyphallic baboon standing with his arms raised in adoration, wearing a diminutive crown, the other side with a scorpion encircled by a Greek inscription; one of pale green chalcedony, one side engraved with Chnoubis, its radiate lion head in profile to the left, the other side with the sign for Chnoubis in triplicate, encircled by a Greek inscription; and one of bloodstone, one side engraved with a standing draped lion-headed deity, one hand raised to his lips, a facing head of Medusa below, a Greek inscription in the field, the other side and the beveled edge with inscriptions
Largest: 1 in. (2.5 cm.) wide (4)
CIRCA 3RD-4TH CENTURY A.D.
Each double-sided, one of black jasper, one side engraved with a draped goddess, perhaps Isis, standing between two winged deities, each holding a standard, on a groundline, Greek inscriptions in the field, the other side with two standing deities, perhaps the Dioscuri, their heads surmounted by a disk, standing on either side of a flaming altar, a crescent moon and stars above, on a groundline, inscriptions in the field, an inscription on the beveled edge; one of yellow jasper, one side engraved with an ithyphallic baboon standing with his arms raised in adoration, wearing a diminutive crown, the other side with a scorpion encircled by a Greek inscription; one of pale green chalcedony, one side engraved with Chnoubis, its radiate lion head in profile to the left, the other side with the sign for Chnoubis in triplicate, encircled by a Greek inscription; and one of bloodstone, one side engraved with a standing draped lion-headed deity, one hand raised to his lips, a facing head of Medusa below, a Greek inscription in the field, the other side and the beveled edge with inscriptions
Largest: 1 in. (2.5 cm.) wide (4)
Provenance
European Private Collection, acquired in the late 19th-early 20th century.