Carnelian gem: Aphrodite anadyomene, Greek inscription

PP-ID:

PP-4317

Classification:

gem, magical

Collection ID:

DE-München-Münzsammlung_2176

Collection:

München, Staatliche Münzsammlung

Collection Inventory:

2176 (A. 1854)

Reference Numbers:

CBd, no. 4317

Material:

carnelian, red to brown

Dimensions:

11.9 × 10.2 × 3.8 mm

Iconography:

Aphrodite anadyomene

Red-orange carnelian; upright oval, side A flat, side B convex. (Shape 7). Parts broken off and missing at the top and bottom.
Acquired through the antiquities trade in Rome.

Side A: Nude Aphrodite to front, wringing water from her hair. In the free field, four lines of Greek inscription in mirror writing: [μν]ησθ|ηελπι|σανει|[κ]ητο → voces including the word ἡ ἐλπίς 'the hope.'
Side B: Undecorated.