I. Nemeti, The Rider’s Iconography on Gems from Roman Dacia. In: S. Nemeti, I. Nemeti, F. Fodorean, S. Cociș, EST MODVS IN REBVS. Essays Presented to Professor Mihai Bărbulescu at his 75 th anniversary, Cluj-Napoca 2022, 219-227. (original) (raw)
Related papers
Gołyźniak P. Ancient Engraved Gems in the National Museum in Krakow. Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag 2017., 2017
The book is available to order from: https://reichert-verlag.de/schlagworte/altaegyptischer\_stil\_schlagwort/9783954902439\_ancient\_engraved\_gems\_in\_the\_national\_museum\_in\_krakow-detail This book is a catalogue raisonée of a rich collection of ancient engraved gems housed in the National Museum in Krakow. It offers a thorough insight into ancient glyptic art through the considerable range of almost 780 so far unpublished objects – cameos, intaglios, scarabs and finger rings of various styles, workmanship and cultural circles: Egyptian, Near Eastern, Minoan, Greek, Etruscan, Italic, Roman, Sassanian and early Christian, dated from the second millennium BC to the seventh century AD. Many pieces in this cabinet are notable not only for their top quality in terms of craftsmanship and design, but also for the materials used and engravings involving complex iconography illustrating religious beliefs, political allegiances, needs and desires that ancient people wished to be fulfill, fears, dangers and terrors from which they sought protection and even their daily occupations. The collection provides with a fascinating gallery of portrait studies presenting Hellenistic rulers and their queens, Roman emperors and members of their families as well as some private individuals. Some specimens are exceptional and unparalleled like the onyx cameo portraying Drusus Maior, likely executed by the hand of Eutyches, son of famous Dioscurides (cover) or a tiny but remarkably cut emerald cameo with a laureate portrait bust of Livia Drusilla as goddess Venus. Some objects have been preserved in their original settings (gold, silver, bronze, iron rings), which contributes to the study of ancient gems’ chronology and indicate their users, while others have been later re-set into eighteenth- and nineteenth-century collectors’ rings and sometimes more elaborated mounts. There are also pieces discoloured due to contact with considerable heat, which may suggest them to have been burnt with other personal objects on the funeral pyres and later deposited in burials. Noteworthy is the number of Greek and Latin inscriptions appearing on intaglios and cameos forming this cabinet. They span from owners’ names to the subtle messages communicated between lovers and invocations to the God. Each gem is thoroughly analysed, described and exhaustively commented as to the device it bears, chronology and possible workshop attribution. A vast number of parallel objects is referenced too. This combined with provenance study presented in the first part of the book enabled to establish where a number of intaglios and cameos were manufactured, including almost 140 objects most likely to origin from the most important Roman workshop located in Aquileia. It ought to be singled out that many gems in this volume once constituted a part of distinguished collections formed by such personalities as Tobias von Biehler, Alessandro Gregorio Capponi, Auguste le Carpentier, Alessandro Castellani, Comte de Caylus, Count Nikolai Nikitich Demidoff, Baron Albert de Hirsch, Jean François Leturcq, Sibylle Mertens-Schaaffhausen, Dr. George Frederick Nott, Benedetto Pistrucci, James-Alexandre de Pourtalès (Comte de Pourtalès-Gorgier), Paul von Praun, Andrey Kirillovich Razumovsky, Jacques Meffre Rouzan, Philipp von Stosch, Antonio Maria Zanetti and many more. They seemed lost for more than 130 years, but now have been brought back and are accessible to everyone. Consequently, the volume presents three intriguing stories of collectors whose donations contributed to the Krakow assemblage. They not only provide the reader with a sort of background for the objects discussed further, but also illustrate nineteenth- and early twentieth-century collecting practices and the art market for engraved gemstones, contributing to our knowledge of the history of scholarship and collecting. In summary, this book is intended to be useful not only for scholars interested in gems, but also those who study the history of the art market and collecting as well as all the enthusiasts of Classical art and archaeology.
People Abroad. Proceedings of the XVI. International Colloquium on Roman Provincial Art, April 9–13th 2019, Tübingen / Lipps, Johannes (ed.).), 2021
Engraved gems as very personal objects can reveal information about the people who wore them, about their status, profession, and religion. They can even hint at the origin of their owner, which is sometimes the case with gems depicting the oriental or native gods. In an attempt to recognize the foreign identities on the engraved gems, four engraved gems and four glass gems from the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb have been singled out. One intaglio and one glass gem have no record of their finding place. At the same time, the rest belong to stray finds from different sites in the Roman Provinces of Dalmatia, Pannonia, and Moesia. Three intaglios and four glass gems depict oriental deities Jupiter-Serapis and Isis, Jupiter Ammon, Jupiter Heliopolitanus, and Harpocrates. Last is the engraved gem showing the cavalryman with the long Celtic shield from Dalj (Teutoburgium). The group of gems discussed in the paper expands our knowledge of oriental cults in Roman provinces mentioned above and testifies to the mobility of people as well.
RINGS AND GEMS FROM THE ROMAN FORT IN IŽA (Full text in English and Slovak)
2021
The Roman fort in Iža is a frontier fortress of the Roman Empire on the Danube, opposite the legionary camp of Brigetio (today Ó-Szőny). Archaeological research at the site has been carried out since the beginning of the 20th century until today. This publication presents rings and gems from the area of the military fort and its immediate surroundings. The finds are examined individually - as personal jewellery, but also in the context of the military environment and taking into account the findspot, where known. In the publication they are divided according to the development phases of the site into two main groups from the period of the wood-and timber fort (174/175-179) and the stone fort (end of the 2nd - end of the 4th centuries). From the older period there are 10 rings and 1 gem, from the younger period 12 rings and 3 solitary gems. In addition, 2 rings with gems from the vicinity of the military camp and 1 gem found separately are also included in the collection. -- Rímsky vojenský tábor v Iži je pohraničná pevnosť Rímskej ríše na Dunaji oproti legionárskemu táboru Brigetio (dnes Ó-Szőny). Archeologický výskum na tomto mieste prebieha od začiatku 20. storočia až dodnes. Táto publikácia predstavuje prstene a gemy z areálu vojenskej pevnosti a jej bezprostredného okolia. Nálezy sú skúmané jednotlivo - ako osobné šperky, ale aj v kontexte vojenského prostredia a s prihliadnutím na nálezové okolnosti, ak sú známe. V publikácii sú rozdelené podľa vývojových fáz lokality do dvoch hlavných skupín z obdobia drevozemného tábora (174/175-179) a kamenného kastela (koniec 2. - koniec 4. storočia). Zo staršieho obdobia je 10 prsteňov (niektoré s gemami) a 1 samostatne nájdená gema, z mladšieho obdobia 12 prsteňov (niektoré s gemami a 3 samostatne nájdené gemy. Okrem toho sú do zbierky zaradené aj 2 prstene s gemami z okolia vojenského tábora a 1 gema nájdená samostatne.
The Iconography of the Antique Hero in the Balkan Area
The iconography of the mounted hero has deep roots in ancient art. On the Balkan territory, this iconography, during Roman times, is well attested especially through the monuments of the Thracian Rider and Danubian Riders. The analysis of the iconographical elements, typology and distribution of the artefacts highlight the fact that although we are dealing with a theme current during all through Antiquity, several local elements, at the iconographical and ideological level, might be identified.