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A fine carnelian gem engraved with a design consisting of a star surrounded by the images of a goat, a bull, and a lion, is described by M. Mairan. (Mairan, "Letters au R. P. Parrenin," Paris, 1770, pp. 275 sqq.) He sees in the star the emblem of the splendid comet which appeared shortly after the assassination of Caesar, and which, according to Suetonius, was believed to be the soul of Caesar newly received into the sky; the goat, bull, and lion are the symbols of the zodiacal signs Aries, Taurus, and Leo, the first-named sign referring perhaps to the death of Caesar on the Ides, or fifteenth of March; while the other two signs may allude to the position of the comet at different dates.
In the Cabinet du Roi, in Paris, there was an engraved carnelian, the design showing Jupiter enthroned, with thunderbolt and sceptre, and Mars and Mercury standing on either side of the central figure. Separated from the gods of the upper air by a bow, probably representing the arch of the sky, appears the bust of Neptune, emerging from the sea. The border of the design is formed by the twelve signs of the zodiac, Virgo being of an unusual type,--the virgin and a unicorn,--said to have been used only during the reign of Domitian (81-96 A.D.) (Mairan, l.c., pp. 199, 211.)
Some choice example of astrological gems may be seen in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; among these is a green jasper bearing symbols of Luna, Capricorn, and Taurus. This gem is from the collection of the late Rev. C. W. King, which has been acquired for the Museum, and is described as figuring the horoscope of the owner. In the same collection is a banded agate engraved with Sagittarius as a centaur, surrounded by the stars of this constellation in their proper order. King states that this was the earliest horoscopical gem known to him. Still another gem of this collection is a sard bearing the symbol of Aries carrying a long caduceus; this type appears on the coins of Antioch, because that city was founded in the month over which the sign Aries presides. ("Collection of Engraved Gems," Metropolitan Museum of Art, Handbook No. 9.)
The Austrian Imperial Collection in Vienna contains the celebrated Gemma Augustea, sometimes called the Apotheosis of Augustus. This commemorates the Pannonian triumph of Tiberius, 13 A.D., and above the figure of Augustus appears the sign of Capricornus, the constellation of his nativity; beneath the figure of Tiberius is engraved the sign of Scorpio, under which that emperor was born. This celebrated cameo, the work of the famous gem-engraver Dioskorides, is mentioned in an inventory of the treasury of St. Sernin, in Toulouse, dated 1246. It is said to have been offered by Francis I of France to Pope Clement VII, on the occasion of their meeting in Marseilles in 1535; however, as the gem only reached Marseilles two days after the pope's departure, Francis decided to retain possession of it. The royal treasure at Fontainebleau was plundered in 1590, and the stone was offered for sale, and was purchased, in 1619, by Emperor Rudolph II, for the sum of 12,000 ducats. |
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Precious Stones Guide Vol 9
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