© Museum of Island History
Seal matrix containing a Roman Jasper Intaglio
Artist: Medieval, Roman
Location: Museum of Island History
Date: 1200-1350
Materials: silver & red jasper
Dimensions: 2.85 x 2.34cm
Grant:
Amount Paid: £800 (Total: £1,800)
Vendor: Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Review number: 5954 (2007)
Provenance:
Discovered in Arreton by a metal detectorist and declared Treasure in 2006.
Description:
The intaglio is a fine piece of early Roman art which has been reinterpreted in the middle Ages and incorporated into a seal matrix. A high quality intaglio has never been found previously on the Isle of Wight. The gem is cut in the precise classicising style of the 1st century with a depiction of the eternity of the Imperial Victory. A well educated man in the middle Ages would have been aware of the Classical Victory; however he may have interpreted the figure as an angel and the stars as the Heavens glorifying in the birth of the Saviour, Christ.
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