Roman Engraved Gems in the National Archaeological Museum in Lisbon

The article presents the collection of Roman engraved gems in the National Museum of Archaeology, in Lisbon. Although a small cabinet, it contains a wide variety of themes and motifs. Among the intaglios, the nicolos deserve to be especially highlighted for their quantity when compared with the oth...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Graça Cravinho
Format: article
Language:EN
FR
Published: Ksiegarnia Akademicka Publishing 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doaj.org/article/afbe5685f1f24805b632f9eb5ee15e42
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The article presents the collection of Roman engraved gems in the National Museum of Archaeology, in Lisbon. Although a small cabinet, it contains a wide variety of themes and motifs. Among the intaglios, the nicolos deserve to be especially highlighted for their quantity when compared with the others, thus strenghtening the evidence for the existence of a regional quartz industry in the city of Ammaia, which particularly specialized in the manufacture of nicolo gemstones. The themes match those existing throughout the Empire, but some items deserve special attention: Eros removing a thorn from a lion’s paw (no. 3); three Satyrs performing a sacrifice (no. 1); the wounded warrior (no. 31); the ‘prodigy scene’ (no. 36); Faustulus, the Capitoline Wolf and the twins (no. 37); a possible portrait of Cleopatra (no. 42); the Jewish symbols (no. 70) and the magical amulet (no. 72).