CIRCA 5TH-7TH CENTURY A.D.

The intaglio is engraved with the frontal bust of Jesus Christ with cross-nimbus, a relatively rare motif in the early Byzantine repertoire. Similar iconography can be found of gems from the same period, with the bust of Jesus usually surmounting a large cross, see J. Spier, Late Antique and Early Christian Gems, Wiesbaden, 2007, nos 575, 677, 678.