1969.189: Ouroboroi Gemstone Amulet

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1969.189

Title

Ouroboroi Gemstone Amulet

Classification

Amulets

Work Type

amulet

Date

3rd-4th century

Places

Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Africa, Egypt (Ancient)

Period

Roman Imperial period, Late

Culture

Graeco-Roman

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/287378

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Chalcedony

Technique

Engraved

Dimensions

actual: 4.9 x 4 cm (1 15/16 x 1 9/16 in.)

Inscriptions and Marks

• inscription: two lines in the bottom half of box on the top half of the reverse, in Greek (line and word divisions of the gem cutter),
  
  ΓΑΝΟΧΑΛ ΛΑΛΑΧΟC
  ΑΛΛΑΧΑΡ {Χ}ΑΛΛΑΜΕΝΕΥC
  
  
  
  fourteen lines on bottom half of reverse beneath the box, in Greek,
  
  ΓΑΒΡΙΗΛ ΑΛΛΑΛΑΧΟC ΑΛΛΗΧΑΡ
  ΑΛΛΙΜΕΝΕΥC ΑΚΡΕΘWΝ ΨΙΚΡΑ
  ΘΑ ΘΑΛΑΚΡΑ ΑΚΛΑCΑΡ ΜΙΛWΘ
  CΑWΘ CΑΒΑWΘ ΘWΘ ΚΟΠΙΟΡ
  ΝΑΥCΟΙΜΗΜΑΨΙΑΧΑCΧΙΑΥΨΗ
  CΑΠΙΕΥΗΡCΦΑΔ ΚΝΟΥΦΙ ΑΧΗΛ
  ΓΑΜΑΕΦΝΕWΘ (κτλ.)
  
  
  
  

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Edward W. Forbes

Accession Year

1969

Object Number

1969.189

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Publication History

• Simone Michel, Die magischen Gemmen: Zu Bildern und Zauberformeln auf geschnittenen Steinen der Antike und Neuzeit, Akademie Verlag (Berlin, Germany, 2004), 288, no. 28.1, pl. 100.1.
• Christopher A. Faraone, "Notes on Some Greek Magical Gems in New England", Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies (2013), Vol. 53, 326-49, pp. 341-49, no. 6.

Exhibition History

• Roman Gallery Installation (long-term), Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/16/1999 - 01/20/2008
• 32Q: 3620 University Study Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 08/25/2015 - 01/03/2016

Verification Level