Intaglio mit Saturnus und Inschrift Mythunim

Abstract

Acornelian intaglio dating from the IInd century AD, found in the South of France, formerly in the collection of Sibyl Mertens-Schaffhausen (1797-1857), is known only by a cast in the dactylotheque published on the occasion of the sale of the collection. The figure of enthroned Saturn corresponds, as seen in the print, to the type of cultural figure of the temple on the Forum Romanum. Contrary to the model, the head is not veiled. It is an assimilation to the similar type of enthroned Jupiter. The inscription MYTHVNIM DD was clockwise engraved at a later date on the original. The first word of the inscription is a latinized Punic name signifying «gift of the gods». Mythun(il)im dono dedit (or dedit); it means that the intaglio was a gift by Mythun(il)im to another person.

Keywords

• Roman glyptics
• intaglio
• iconography
• religion