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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2012.1.147
Title
Intaglio: Eagle Holding Animal
Classification
Gems
Work Type
gem
Date
2nd-4th Century
Period
Roman Imperial period
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/76719

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Jasper
Technique
Intaglio
Dimensions
1.4 x 1.9 cm (9/16 x 3/4 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: in the field on the front,
    EKBA

    Six lines of gibberish text on the reverse using Greek characters,
    AXINNINNIC /
    KPOVBAKPOVB /
    ATACAAAXA /
    WDDWNIBOΛXOCHO /
    MH .. CAAAB .. /
    POV

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
2012.1.147
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
Red jasper intaglio with a bird flying left. The bird holds a many-legged animal in its talons. A scarab with a sundisk approaches from the left, and the inscription "EKBA" is in the field above the bird and other letters below the beetle. On the other side is the gibberish or "voces magicae" inscription 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), 342, no. 55.2.d (as Sossidi 12).

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