Roman magical gem

The magical gems served as amulets to protect against diseases and misfortunes, and began to be used from the second century A.D. with the arrival of Eastern religions and Christianity.

These amulets are usually recorded on both sides, representing a figurative theme on the front and an inscription on the back, so with the crimped gem in a ring, the text was hidden.

Inscriptions, corresponding to words or magic formulas, are normally made with Greek characters, and representations were used Egyptian deities, Greek or Roman. The gems used were usually jasper, heliotrope, cornelian or chalcedony.

In this case we find a gem of white chalcedony, considered a stone with magical and curative values, enhanced by the representation of figures and inscriptions. On the front we find a male figure with radiated lion head holding in his left hand a container from which protrude two elongated objects, and on the right a Chnoubis, an Egyptian icon Solar gnostic, composed of a lion's head with the body of a serpent with seven rays emanating from his head, which is frequently found in this type of gems and amulets for protection against poison and disease.

On the back we find a series of Greek characters and magical signs untranslated.