Code: 12357
This fabulous hardstone intaglio ring dates to the 2nd - 3rd century AD. The ring is made from 18k gold (tested but not marked). It is set with a jasper intaglio, cut with a Gnostic figure of Hermanubis wearing armour and holding a Situla. Around the figure is an inscription in Greek. The 18k gold ring is modern and a large size 13.
The syncretistic god Hermanubis, a combination of the Egyptian god Anubis with the Greek Hermes, is first attested from an inscription from the Serapeum on Delos from the 2nd century B.C. The assimilation of Anubis with Hermes was due to their similar mythological functions of guiding the dead to the Underworld. As with other Egyptian gods such as Isis and Serapis, Hermanubis came to be worshipped in Rome and elsewhere in Italy, especially during the Imperial period. According to A. Roullet (The Egyptian and Egyptianizing Monuments of Imperial Rome, pp. 39-40), the Emperor Marcus Aurelius commissioned a small shrine to Hermes in Rome, which was dedicated to the jackal-headed form of the god. Coins from the period depict him standing within a shrine with a semi-circular pediment, similar in form to the Egyptian temple on the mosaic from Palestrina.
The inscription on this gem, alludes to its magical/protective qualities, classified as Gnostic/Magical Gem. Hermanubis was engaged in the investigation of truth.
OBJECT: Gnostic Magical Ring
CULTURE: Romano-Egyptian
DATE: 2nd - 3rd century AD
MATERIAL: Jasper & 18k gold
SIZE: 20mm x 16mm x 5mm
RING SIZE: 13 (US) Z 3/4 (UK)
WEIGHT: 10.4 grams
PROVENANCE: Formerly in a private collection, East Sussex.
