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Magical amulet: CG 508

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Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Obverse: The solar deity known as Abrasax, with its body placed frontally and head turned right. The deity has the head of a cock, the body of a Roman soldier dressed in cuirass and tunic, and legs formed from two-upward-curling snakes. In its left hand this monster-the anguipede-holds a round shield and its right a whip. seven stars are distributed throughout the field; two are placed above the anguipede, one to its right and four below on its left side. Surrounding is a legend. Reverse: a standing full-frontal, male figure with the head turned to the left, most probably the youthful Harpocrates. The god is wrapped in a himation: he carries a flail in his left hand and raises his right to his head, which is crowned with an over-large rendering of the opening lotus bud. Separated in the filed are letters which spell the Gnostic magical name.

Measurements and weight

15
18*

At the moment, this record does not display units or type of measurements. We will rectify this as soon as possible.

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bought

Dating

3rd Century-4th Century
Circa 200 AD - Circa 400 AD

School or Style

Roman Imperial

Components of the work

Intaglio

Materials used in production

Magnetite

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: CG 508
Primary reference Number: 124586
Gem catalogue number: B 326(CM)

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Friday 14 May 2021

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Antiquities

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Magical amulet" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/124586 Accessed: 2025-12-09 11:55:54

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/124586 |title=Magical amulet |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-09 11:55:54|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-124586

Bootstrap HTML code for reuse

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<div class="text-center">
    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/ant/ant46/CG_20508_1_201404_jas244_dc2.jpg"
        alt="Magical amulet"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Magical amulet</figcaption>
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