A ROMAN GRAY CHALCEDONY "MAGIC GEM"

CIRCA 3RD-4TH CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN GRAY CHALCEDONY "MAGIC GEM"
circa 3rd-4th century a.d.
The convex obverse engraved with a five line Greek inscription: CNBAO MAKCN MAKOMOLL ABPO ABPAMH the reverse with the sign for Chnoubis (three Z's traversed by a line); mounted as a ring in a modern gold setting
Ring size 8

Provenance

Pier Andrea Andreini (1650-1729)
Thought to have been in the Ionides Collection, formed by Contantine Alexander Ionides (1833-1900) and his son Alexander Constantine (1862-1931), although it is not included in Boardman's 1968 catalog of the gem collection.

Literature

Antonio Maria Salvini and Antonio Francesco Gori, Inscriptionum Antiquarum Graecarum et Romanarum, p. 456, no. 4.
Filippo Buanarroti, Gemme antiche da esso delineate.
A.C.P. Caylus, Recueil d'Antiquities, vol. VI, Pl. XL,4 & 5.
C.E. King, The Gnostics, p. 100.

Lot Essay

The inscriptions on the so-called "magic gems" are very often composed of voces magicae, or magical words and names combined to invoke a deity or group of supernatural entities. Many such inscriptions defy translation and are thus considered meaningless. The present example is no exception, however the presence on the reverese of the sign for the deity Chnoubis suggests that our stone would have had some kind of therapeutic function. The inscription is likely an invocation addressed to angelic beings. The beginning of lines 2 and 3 (MALAK-) may be based on late antique Hebrew, ML'K, meaning "angel." The last word, ABRAMEL, is an angel name of Semitic origin, which is derived from the name Abraham.

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