2012.1.145: Intaglio: Serapis

Identification and Creation

Object Number

2012.1.145

Title

Intaglio: Serapis

Classification

Gems

Work Type

gem

Date

2nd-4th Century

Period

Roman Imperial period

Culture

Roman

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/77206

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Hematite

Technique

Intaglio

Dimensions

2.7 cm (1 1/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

Eleftherios Sossidi, Hamburg, (between 1955-65 - 1990's), sold; [through Sotheby's sale 7742, New York, December 7, 2001, lot 314]; to The Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection, Department of the Classics, Harvard University (2001-2012), transfer; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2012.

Note: E. Sossidi (1913-1992) worked in Cairo from 1958-1968.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection, Department of the Classics, Harvard University

Accession Year

2012

Object Number

2012.1.145

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.

Descriptions

Description

Hematite intaglio with image of Serapis. The god stands frontally on a platform, wearing his identifying crown, holding a wreath in his right hand and a long staff in his left. He is flanked by smaller figures of the Dioskouroi, each holding a staff and a star above their heads. There is a small crouched figure in front of the platform.

Publication History

• Simone Michel, Die magischen Gemmen: Zu Bildern und Zauberformeln auf geschnittenen Steinen der Antike und Neuzeit, Akademie Verlag (Berlin, Germany, 2004), 326, no. 45.2.b (as Sossidi 11), p. 14.1.

Verification Level