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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2012.1.144
Title
Intaglio: Serpent-Headed god
Classification
Gems
Work Type
gem
Date
2nd-4th Century
Period
Roman Imperial period
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/77226

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Jasper
Technique
Intaglio
Dimensions
2.1 cm (13/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: in five lines using Greek characters,
    BAIN/XWWWX / ABPAC / AΞ KKK / XM

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
2012.1.144
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Red jasper intaglio showing a creature riding a lion. The creature, with the body of a human and seven snake heads, sits facing left, holding a flail in its left hand and a was-scepter in its right. In the field above, there are two crescent moons flanking a star, and in the field at left there are two characters. On the other side is a "voces magicae" Greek inscription followed by characters and 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. 42.4.a (as Sossidi 10), pl. 59.2.

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