Four Treasures Reference Database
Record No. 28018
Le pouvoir des pierres, de la sphragis au médicament estampillé dans le monde gréco-romain
The power of stones, from the sphragis to the stamped medicine in the Greco-Roman world
Book Section
Dasen, V. (2021) Le pouvoir des pierres, de la sphragis au médicament estampillé dans le monde gréco-romain. [The power of stones, from the sphragis to the stamped medicine in the Greco-Roman world] In: Ce que peuvent les pierres, Liège: Presses universitaires de Liège, pp. 163–191.
ISBN/ISSN: 9782880000000 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/14ddg | Sinkankas/Born No.: NIS/NIB | Language: in French | not seen
gems, magical gems, history of gemology, ancient gems, gem lore, gems and healing, medicinal use, alchemy, early lapidaries, Arabic mineralogy
The glyptic art of the Roman Imperial period (1st–4th centuries CE) harnesses the power that minerals were believed to exert on living beings with a remarkably coherent symbolic effectiveness, combining the virtues of stones, engraved images, and texts—particularly in the category of so-called “magical” stones. The combination of three elements defines a particular category of intaglios within Roman glyptic: the selection of a mineral with specific properties, the engraving in positive of inscriptions in Greek and/or “magical” signs or charaktêres, and images invoking a divine presence.