Engraved Gem with Scorpion | Harvard Art Museums

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1983.23
Title: Engraved Gem with Scorpion
Classification: Gems
Work Type: gem
Date: 3rd-4th century CE
Period: Roman Imperial period
Culture: Roman
Persistent Link: https://hvrd.art/o/289207

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Jasper
Technique: Intaglio
Dimensions: 1.8 x 1.5 cm (11/16 x 9/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History: [Charles Dikran Kelekian, New York, (by 1982)], by descent; to his daughter Nanette Rodney Kelekian, New York, (1982-1983), gift; to the Fogg Museum, 1983.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line: Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Nanette B. Rodney
Accession Year: 1983
Object Number: 1983.23
Division: Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact: am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description: Yellow jasper gemstone engraved with a scorpion on one side, surrounded by a beveled edge, and a lizard with an inscription, the palindrom "ABLANAThANALBA" in Greek encircling it on the other. The stone is chipped along the rim on the side with the lizard.

Publication History

Simone Michel, Die magischen Gemmen: Zu Bildern und Zauberformeln auf geschnittenen Steinen der Antike und Neuzeit, Akademie Verlag (Berlin, Germany, 2004), 264, no. 14.2.

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

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1983.23: Engraved Gem with Scorpion