Archaeological Museum of Bologna

One of the most frequent subjects in the magical gems is Abraxas (or Abrasax), monstrous figure with cock's head, human body and serpentiform legs, whose formation contributed greek-oriental and Jewish influences, alongside a roman component.

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Abraxas was a magic word that we often find on gems, papyrii and gnostic texts. Adding together the letters of the word (Α alpha = 1; Β beta = 2; Ρ rho = 100, ecc,) the sum is 365, which is the number of days in a year.

On the other side of the gemstone there is a male head with a crownwith rays, the snake Chnoubis, which has a healthy influence on digestive system diseases.

Provenance: unknow
Datation: 3rd century AD
Material: heliotrope
Dimensions: mm 21,4 x 18 x 2,8
Inventory #: Gl 19