Carnelian gem: Sanctuary of Aphrodite at Paphos (A) heron with snake (B)

PP-ID:

PP-5022

Classification:

gem, non-specified

Collection ID:

DE_Kassel-HKH_Ge 193

Collection:

Kassel, Antikensammlung, Hessen Kassel Heritage

Collection Inventory:

Ge 193

Reference Numbers:

Capello 1702, no. 209; AGD III, no. Kassel 193; Michel, DMG, no. 27.3_6

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:

14 × 10.2 × 4.7 mm

Iconography:

temple; naiskos; columns (2); column; star; dove; heron; snake

Red carnelian gem. Upright oval; convex on both sides. (Shape 4). The edge of side A has broken off, along with part of the image surface. Polished.

Side A: Depiction of the Temple of Aphrodite at Paphos, rendered in the linear sectional manner familiar from Imperial-period coin types. The temple is shown with the well-known "cone-shaped cult symbol" (P. Zazoff; shaped here more like an alabastron), enclosed within a naiskos-like architectural frame and flanked by two free-standing columns in the outer zone. A star appears on the roof ridge, and the forecourt is indicated below by an apse-like curved outline. Two doves were originally depicted on top of the two columns (clearly visible in Capello’s drawing), but the one on the right has been lost due to damage.
Side B: Heron standing on a baseline in profile to the right, holding a snake in its beak.

Selected bibliography
• Capello 1702 >>, pl. 34, no. 209 (see Antiquitatum Thesaurus for details).
• Montfaucon 1719 >>, vol. 2,2, 376, pl. 172H for side A (see Antiquitatum Thesaurus for details) and pl. 172G for side B (see Antiquitatum Thesaurus for details)
• Zazoff, AGD III >>, 247, no. 193.
• Michel, DMG >>, no. 27.3_6.

Further resources on PP-5022
• Hessen Kassel Heritage Online
• Antiquitatum Thesaurus