Roman Carnelian Gemstone with Serapis and Isis
2nd-3rd century A.D.. The oval intaglio showing Serapis holding a sceptre and wearing a modius upon his head; Isis, wearing a feather(?) headdress and holding a sistrum. Cf. Walters, H.B., Catalogue of Engraved Gems & Cameos, Greek, Etruscan & Roman in the British Museum, London, 1926, no.1030, for the type.
2.51 grams, 18 mm (3/4 in.).
Acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s.Important North West London collection. Serapis was known to the Greek and Roman world already in the 3rd century B.C. in Alexandria, where Ptolemy I built a serapeum in honour of the god. The name of the god is considered to be composed from the names Osiris and Apis bull and means 'Osiris the bull' since after his death he became the ruler of the outer world, while it was also believed that Osiris lived in the world through Apis. Isis, his spouse, was worshipped in the Roman Empire as a powerful divinity, mother of the gods.