Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
Unable to open [object Object]: HTTP 0 attempting to load TileSource: https://ids.lib.harvard.edu/ids/iiif/42892734/info.json
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
This object does not yet have a description.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2012.1.146
Title
Intaglio with Egyptian Symbols
Classification
Gems
Work Type
gem
Date
2nd-4th Century
Period
Roman Imperial period
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/77207

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Hematite
Technique
Intaglio
Dimensions
2.7 cm (1 1/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: in Greek, faintly, on the reverse,
    ΘAΔWA

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
2012.1.146
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
Oblong hematite intaglio with shallow carvings. One side bears Egyptian symbols, with a scarab beetle flying over a phoenix. The phoenix has a sun or nimbus behind its head and a star on either side. It stands on a pyre, with a crocodile below and is flanked by rearing serpents. On the other side is an inscription written vertically in Greek letters surrounded by a beveled edge.

Publication History

  • Simone Michel, Die magischen Gemmen: Zu Bildern und Zauberformeln auf geschnittenen Steinen der Antike und Neuzeit, Akademie Verlag (Berlin, Germany, 2004), 322, no. 43.1 (as Sossidi 8), pl. 76.1.

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be 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