Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
c. 1st-2nd century AD
Length: 20mm, Width: 17mm, Depth: 7mm
Banded white and brown translucent sardonyx oval cabochon intaglio depicting a double portrait; a bearded male with a female in the foreground wearing a crown.
The gem depicts Tyche, the personification of a city’s fortune, identifiable by her mural crown symbolising civic walls and urban order. She is paired with a bearded male deity, whose presence introduces a complementary divine force alongside the city goddess. Together, the two figures form a compact emblem of civic identity, uniting fortune with divine protection in a single image. Used as a seal stone, the gem conveyed allegiance to a specific place and its tutelary powers. The pairing expressed stability, prosperity, and protection, projecting the owner’s association with the city’s enduring fortune and divine guardianship.
Sardonyx is a type of chalcedony (polycristalline quartz) displaying a vitreous lustre.
c. 1st-2nd century AD
Length: 20mm, Width: 17mm, Depth: 7mm
Banded white and brown translucent sardonyx oval cabochon intaglio depicting a double portrait; a bearded male with a female in the foreground wearing a crown.
The gem depicts Tyche, the personification of a city’s fortune, identifiable by her mural crown symbolising civic walls and urban order. She is paired with a bearded male deity, whose presence introduces a complementary divine force alongside the city goddess. Together, the two figures form a compact emblem of civic identity, uniting fortune with divine protection in a single image. Used as a seal stone, the gem conveyed allegiance to a specific place and its tutelary powers. The pairing expressed stability, prosperity, and protection, projecting the owner’s association with the city’s enduring fortune and divine guardianship.
Sardonyx is a type of chalcedony (polycristalline quartz) displaying a vitreous lustre.