Jasper gem: Solar child on lotus, Greek inscription (A) Two figures (B)

PP-ID:

PP-5003

Classification:

gem, magical

Collection ID:

DE_Kassel-HKH_Ge 152

Collection:

Kassel, Antikensammlung, Hessen Kassel Heritage

Collection Inventory:

Ge 152

Reference Numbers:

Capello 1702, no. 129; AGD III, no. Kassel 152; Michel, DMG, no. 19.1.c_4

Former Collections:

Patin, Charles (Paris, 1633 – Padua, 1693); Capello, Antonio (Venice, 1652–1729); Karl, Landgraf von Hessen-Kassel (Kassel, 1654–1730)

Material:

jasper, green to black

Dimensions:

19.6 × 14.3 × 3.4 mm

Iconography:

solar child sitting on lotus flower; solar child seated with knees drawn up; solar disk; flail; lotus flower; bird, unspecified; globus; columns (2); altar?; figures, unidentified (2); spear?; object, unidentified; mantle?

Divine Names & Voces:

voces, unidentified

Green jasper gem. Side A upright oval, side B transverse oval. Both sides flat and polished, edge rounded. (Shape 8c–9c). Intact. Post-antique?

Side A: Solar child ("Harpocrates", with bird head?) seated on a lotus flower, with a solar disk on his head. He holds a whip in his left hand and an unidentified object in his right. The central scene is flanked by a column (altar?) on each side: on the left, a long-tailed bird faces the deity; on the right, there is a globe attached to another globe (a bird?). Greek inscription at the bottom, upside down: ιυιο ορια → unidentified vox.
Side B: Two figures (fighters?) stand on a baseline, facing each other. Both wear hats and long garments, the depiction of which suggests that the figures are moving. The left-hand figure holds a staff or spear in his left hand, and bends his right arm. The arms of the right-hand figure are not shown. A mantle (?) falls from his shoulder down his back.

Selected bibliography
• Capello 1702 >>, pl. 21, no. 129 (see Antiquitatum Thesaurus for details).
• Montfaucon 1719 >>, vol. 2,2, 378, pl. 176C (see Antiquitatum Thesaurus for details).
• Zazoff, AGD III >>, 234, no. 152.
• Michel, DMG >>, 270, no. 19.1.c_4.

Further resources on PP-5003
• Hessen Kassel Heritage Online
• Antiquitatum Thesaurus