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RING WITH CAMEO DEPICTING A CRAB Roman, 1st century A.D. Gold, sardonyx D: 2.8 cm
This elliptically shaped ring was created by hammering a thin sheet of gold; its seam is visible on the interior of the band. It is set with a cameo representing a crab, which is sculpted almost three-dimensionally and emerges clearly from the stone ground. Despite its miniature scale, the crab is carved in a remarkably realistic and precise fashion: one almost expects it to start moving on sand. Representations of crabs, which are generally quite rare, have a long tradition in Graeco-Roman art. From nearly the Archaic period onward, we find these crustaceans painted on black figure ceramics and represented on coins or in glyptic art. At times, they were associated with insects such as scorpions, with fish, and with other small animals like amphibians or tortoises. In Greek mythology, the crab is a creature that appears only in relation to the labor of Heracles against the Lernean Hydra. During their combat, Hera sent aid to the hydra in the form of a giant crawfish (Karkinos in Greek) that lived in the Lernean Sea. The animal snapped at Heracles with its claws before being defeated by the hero, who became furious at finding himself thus injured. As a reward for its aid, Hera transported Karkinos into the firmament, where it became the astrological sign of Cancer.
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19011
In Latin, the crab is called cancer; the same term, which is used in numerous contemporary languages, also indicates an illness that is very difficult to treat. It is probably this meaning of the word that provides a plausible explanation for the presence of this crustacean on the stone of an object as personal as a ring: the image of the crab was intended to serve as an amulet that might shield its wearer against the sickness. CONDITION Entirely preserved except for the missing part of the head with the right eye; minor scratches; remains of earth between the legs and claws. PROVENANCE Ex- M.M. private collection, Monaco, collected in the 1980’s. PUBLISHED Phoenix Ancient Art, Greek and Roman Gold, Geneva and New York, 2007, no. 38. BIBLIOGRAPHY LIPPOLD G., Gemmen und Kameen des Altertums und der Neuzeit, Stuttgart, 1922, pl. XCVII, 4, 7, p. 182. RICHTER G. M. A., Animals in Greek Sculpture: A Survey, New York, 1930, p. 86, no. 229, pl. LXV. WALTERS H. B., Catalogue of the Engraved Gems and Cameos, Greek, Etruscan and Roman in the British Museum, London, 1926, p. 250, nos. 2518–2521, pl. XXVIII; see also nos. 594, 916, 1260, 2780. ZAHLHAAS G., Aus Noahs Arche: Tierbilder der Sammlung Mildenberg aus fünf Jahrtausenden, Mainz/ Rhine, 1996, pp. 15–16, no. 6.