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E-SHOP / Engraved gems / Intaglios / a roman magical hematite intaglio. pantheistic deity.

A Roman magical hematite intaglio. Pantheistic deity.

£ 1950

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e-shop / engraved gems / intaglios /

a roman magical hematite intaglio. pantheistic deity.

A Roman magical hematite intaglio. Pantheistic deity.

£ 1950

Hematite
18 × 24 × 4 mm (mounting on request)
Roman art, 2nd-3rd century A.D

Oval haematite intaglio with bevelled edge, engraved on both faces. The obverse depicts a winged pantheistic deitystanding on an exergue line, shown frontally in the hieratic manner characteristic of Graeco-Egyptian magical gems. The god bears two pairs of spread wings, emblematic of his cosmic omnipotence. His head is surmounted by a crown. Flanking the figure are stalks and flowers of poppy, a plant associated in Graeco-Roman magic with sleep, oracular dreams and the passage between worlds. Glyphs fill the field. The reverse is entirely covered with glyphs and charakteres — non-linguistic magical signs arranged in registers — following the canonical practice of magical gem workshops of the 2nd–3rd centuries AD.

Magical gems, produced primarily between the 1st and 4th centuries AD, represent one of the most compelling witnesses to the religious syncretism of the late Roman Empire. Worn as amulets, they concentrate within a few square centimetres the Egyptian, Greek, Jewish and Oriental traditions. Haematite, prized for its apotropaic properties linked to its blood-red hue, is one of the favoured materials of these specialist workshops. The pantheistic figure with two pairs of wings embodies a syncretic, all-encompassing deity — an incarnation of universal divine power — frequently invoked in the Greek Magical Papyri.
Formerly in a private collection, London, acquired in the 1970s
Delatte & Derchain, Les intailles magiques gréco-égyptiennes, BnF, Paris, 1964 — Bonner, Studies in Magical Amulets, chiefly Graeco-Egyptian, Ann Arbor, 1950 — Mastrocinque, Les intailles magiques du département des Monnaies, Médailles et Antiques, BnF Éditions, Paris, 2014 — Gori & Passeri, Thesaurus Gemmarum Antiquarum Astriferarum, Florence, 1750 (Diatribe De Gemmis Basilidianis) — Michel, Die magischen Gemmen im Britischen Museum, Londres, 2001.

Each piece of jewellery is delivered with an authentification certificate signed by Bianca Massard and Gabriele Vangelli de Cresci experts, including additional documentation if existing and exhaustive description of the piece.
Pictures are part of the description and show state of conservation of the item. For additional pictures please contact us. (see contact section)

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Each piece of jewellery is delivered with an authentification certificate signed by Bianca Massard and Gabriele Vangelli de Cresci experts, including additional documentation if existing and exhaustive description of the piece.
Pictures are part of the description and show state of conservation of the item. For additional pictures please contact us. (see contact section)

Shipping and pick-up at the store options can be chosen during check out.

Our exclusive delivery partner is ThePackengers.
ThePackengers, specialized in the packaging and transport of works of art and collectibles, already collaborates with the largest auction houses as Drouot, but also with galleries, fairs, antique dealers, decorators and e-marketplaces.
See our Country List
Shipping Terms and Conditions.
Privacy Policy ThePackengers.

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