Intaglio of chalcedony at the BnF
TNMM 279
Mithras sacrificing the bull in the cave. The god, wearing the tiara or Phrygian cap, the floating cloak, a short tunic and anaxyrides, grasps with one hand the bull's nose which he has struck down and which he presses with his knee, and with his left hand plunges a knife into its neck.
Behind the bull stands a priest, or Phosphoros, dressed like the god, except for the cloak, holding two overturned torches. A scorpion and a snake crawl under the victim. Above Mithras, a radiated bust of the sun, the crescent moon and a moon and a raven.
Mode d'acquisition : échange
Donateur, testateur ou vendeur : Millingen, James
Date de l'acte d'acquisition : 24/04/1806
References
LIMC VI. 1992, Mithras, p. 600, n°140* et p. 615, n°489. Richter, Gisela Marie Augusta. Engraved Gems of the Romans. Londres : Phaidon, 1971, p.49, n° 209. Chabouillet, Anatole. Catalogue général et raisonné des camées et pierres gravées de la Bibliothèque impériale. Paris : 1858, n°2031.
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