ClassificationsGreek and Roman Art
Intaglio Gem Depicting Omphale
CultureRoman
PeriodJulio-Claudian
Datelate 1st Century BCE-1st Century CE
Credit LineGift of the Estate of Michael J. Shubin
Dimensions11/16 x 3/8 x 1/8 in. (1.7 x 1 x 0.3 cm)
Object number2008.031.028
Label TextRepresentations of the mythical Lydian queen Omphale dressed in Herakles’ lionskin cloak and carrying his club over her shoulder were popular on cameo and intaglio gems, especially in the early Imperial period. When carved on red stones, especially jasper, the motif may have been used as an amulet to protect women’s health, easing menstruation, ensuring fertility, and safeguarding childbirth. On this gem, a retrograde inscription in Greek gives a woman’s name, Nais, perhaps that of its owner.Exhibition HistoryMaking an Impression: The Art and Craft of Ancient Engraved Gemstones, Michael C. Carlos Museum, August 27 - November 27, 2022
Published ReferencesPeter Zazoff, "Gemmen, Munzen," in Kunst der Antike. Schatze aus Norddeutschen Privatbesitz, ed. Wilhelm Hornbostel (Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, 1977) (2nd ed. 1979), 508, no. 463.
ProvenancePrivate collection, Germany, by 1977. Ex coll. Michael Shubin (1950-2008), Montebello, California.
InscribedNAIE
Status
Not on viewCollections
- Greek and Roman Art
early 1st Century CE
1st Century BCE
1st Century BCE
3rd Century CE
1st Century BCE
1st Century CE
second half 1st Century BCE
1920s-1940s
late 2nd Century CE
ca. 14 CE
