Carnelian gem: Snake, crab, scorpion (?)

PP-ID:

PP-5019

Classification:

gem, non-specified

Collection ID:

DE_Kassel-HKH_Ge 188

Collection:

Kassel, Antikensammlung, Hessen Kassel Heritage

Collection Inventory:

Ge 188

Reference Numbers:

Capello 1702, no. 233; AGD III, no. Kassel 188

Former Collections:

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

Material:

carnelian, red to brown

Dimensions:

16.7 × 11.3 × 5.3 mm

Iconography:

snake; crab?; scorpion?

Red carnelian gem. Transverse oval, both faces slightly convex. Shape 4. Small chip broken off and missing.

Side A: Undecorated.
Side B: Snake with head at top to left, facing a crab (octopus?), which is followed by a scorpion (fish?); the three form a circle much like an Ouroboros.

Selected bibliography
• Capello 1702 >>, pl. 37, no. 233 (see Antiquitatum Thesaurus for details).
• Montfaucon 1719 >>, vol. 2,2, 376, pl. 174D (see Antiquitatum Thesaurus for details).
• Zazoff, AGD III >>, 245, no. 188.