Prase (?) gem: Reaper (A) Ἰάω Σαβαώθ (B)
Prase (?) gem; transverse oval, side A flat, side B convex. Intact.
Side A: Reaper wearing a cap and a kilt, bending to cut stalks of grain with a sickle. Behind him, on the left, a tree.
Side B: ιαω|σαβαω|θ → Ἰάω Σαβαώθ.
Unskilfully written letters; in the first line, the scribe intended to write Iaō, but mistakenly started engraving an omega as the second letter instead of an alpha. The scribe appears to have been semi-literate or illiterate.
Ch. A. Faraone (based on close observation of the piece in 2023)
w/ Phoinix-team, 2025
Unpublished.
Commentary
• Ch. A. Faraone 2025. Rough version of a common scene and text found on amulets for sciatica, which are usually hematite and inscribed on the back with some version of a different text (σχιων, “for the hips”); for the latter see PP-783. Unlike this example, the reaper’s tunic is often hung on the tree.
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