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Engraved and Carved Gems as Talismans: Paris

As illustrating the eclectic character of some of the amulets used in the early Christian centuries, we may note one in the Cabinet de Medailles, in Paris. This has upon the obverse the head of Alexander the Great; on the reverse is a she-ass with her foal, and below this a scorpion and the name Jesus Christ. Another amulet of this class, figured by Vettori, (Dissert. apol. de quibusdam Alexandri Severi numismat., Cited in Dictionnaire de l'arch. chret., vol. i, Pt. II, Paris, 1907, cols. 1789, 1790, where the amulet is figured.) also has the head of Alexander on the obverse, while the reverse bears the Greek monogram of the name Christos. After the third or fourth century of our era the art of gem-engraving seems to have been lost, or at least to have been very seldom practised, and it is noteworthy in the matter that after this period writers who treat of the virtues of engraved gems as talismans rarely, if ever, use the words "if you engrave" such or such a figure on a stone, but write "if you find" such a figure.

The figures engraved on precious stones were supposed to have a greater or lesser degree of efficacy in themselves independent of the virtues peculiar to the stone on which they were engraved, and this efficacy depended largely upon the hour, day, or month during which the work was executed. For the influence of the planet, star, or constellation which was in the ascendant was thought to infuse a subtle essence into the stone while the appropriate image was being engraved. However, to exert the maximum power, the virtue of the image must be of the same character as the virtue inherent in the material, and the gem became less potent when this was not the case. Certain images, those symbolizing the zodiacal signs for instance, were looked upon as possessing such power that their peculiar nature impressed itself even upon stones inherently of different quality; others again were only efficacious when engraved on stones the quality of which was in sympathy with them. (Camilli Leonardi, Speculum Lapidum, Venetia, 1502.) Naturally, many of the ancient gems which had been preserved from Greek and Roman times were recognized as being purely products of art, but in medieval and later times the idea of the magic quality of all engraved gems had become so deeply rooted that in many cases a magical character was ascribed to them entirely foreign to the intention of the engraver. Great ingenuity was often displayed in seeking and finding some analogy between the supposed significance of the design and the fancied power of the stone itself. Taking the agate as an illustration, Camillo Leonardo says that its many different varieties had as many different virtues, and he finds in this an explanation of the multiplicity of images engraved on the various kinds of agate, without realizing that the true reason was that this material lent itself more readily to artistic treatment than did many others.

The idea that some special design should be engraved upon a given stone became quite general in the early centuries of our era. The emerald, for instance, according to Damigeron, was to be engraved with a scarab, beneath which was to be a standing figure of Isis. The gem, when completed, was to be pierced longitudinally and worn in a brooch. The fortunate owner of this talisman was then to adorn himself and the members of his family, and, a consecration having been pronounced, he was assured that he would see "the glory of the stone granted it by God." (Pitra, ""Specilegium Solesmense," Parisiis, 1885.) Possibly this may have meant that the stone would become luminous. A list of these symbolic designs is said to have been given in the "Book of Wings," by Ragiel, one of the curious treatises composed about the thirteenth century under the influence of Hebrew and Greco-Roman tradition. Although it owes its origin to the Hebrew "Book of Raziel," it bears little if any likeness to that work. As will be seen in the following items, the fact that the design is on its appropriate stone is always insisted on: The beautiful and terrible figure of a dragon. If this is found on a ruby or any other stone of similar nature and virtue, it has the power to augment the goods of this world and makes the wearer joyous and healthy. The figure of a falcon, if on a topaz, helps to acquire the goodwill of kings, princes, and magnates. The image of an astrolabe, if on a sapphire, has power to increase wealth and enables the wearer to predict the future. The well-formed image of a lion, if engraved on a garnet, will protect and preserve honors and health, cures the wearer of all diseases, brings him honors, and guards him from all perils in travelling. An ass, if represented on a chrysolite, will give power to prognosticate and predict the future.

The figure of a ram or of a bearded man, on a sapphire, has the power to cure and preserve from many infirmities as well as to free from poison and from all demons. This is a royal image; it confers dignities and honors and exalts the wearer.

A frog, engraved on a beryl, will have the power to reconcile enemies and produce friendship where there was discord.

A camel's head or two goats among myrtles, if on an onyx, has the power to convoke, assemble, and constrain demons; if any one wears it, he will see terrible visions in sleep.

A vulture, if on a chrysolite, has the power to constrain demons and the winds. It controls demons and prevents them from coming together in the place where the gem may be; it also guards against their importunities. The demons obey the wearer.

A bat, represented on a heliotrope or bloodstone, gives the wearer power over demons and helps incantations.

A griffin, imaged on a crystal, produces abundance of milk. A man richly dressed and with a beautiful object in his hand, engraved on a carnelian, checks the flow of blood and confers honors. A lion or an archer, on a jasper, gives help against poison and cures from fever.

A man in armor, with bow and arrow, on an iris stone, protects from evil both the wearer and the place where it may be.

A man with a sword in his hand, on a carnelian, preserves the place where it may be from lightning and tempest, and guards the wearer from vices and enchantments.

A bull engraved on a prase is said to give aid against evil spells and to procure the favor of magistrates.

A hoopoo with a tarragon herb before it, represented on a beryl, confers the power to invoke water-spirits and to converse with them, as well as to call up the mighty dead and to obtain answers to questions addressed to them. A swallow, on a celonite, establishes and preserves peace and concord among men.

A man with his right hand raised aloft, if engraved on a chalcedony, gives success in lawsuits, renders the wearer healthy, gives him safety in his travels and preserves him from all evil chances.

The names of God, on a ceraunia stone, have the power to preserve the place where the stone may be from tempests; they also give to the wearer victory over his enemies.