Intaglio with Mithras and Kabiros

TNMM 551 ↔ CIMRM 2366

Greenish black jasper. Horizontal oval (0.019 X 0.014 X 0.004). Coll. Seyrig, 3. Bonner, 265 No. 70 and Pl. V, 70. See fig. 660.

Obv.: 'Mithra to l. slaying bull; Phrygian cap, upper garment blowing back from shoulder. Mithra looks forward, holding knife ready to strike. Dog at bull's throat; snake below, scorpion attacking from behind, bird in field above scorpion.

Rev.: Kabeiros standing to front in short tunic. The raised r.h. holds a hammer, the l.h. holds a rhyton with its mouth downwards'.

This intaglio of green jasper, chipped on one edge, is engraved on both sides and was probably used as an amulet by its owner. The obverse shows Mithras Tauroctonos, seen in profile facing left, wearing a Phrygian cap and a mantle that floats behind him. This scene adopts an unusual arrangement among Mithraic gems, since the god is looking forward and preparing to slaughter the bull with a dagger that he holds in his right hand. Below, a large serpent crawling towards the left serves to show the line of the ground. On the left, a dog stands, its tail raised, facing in the bull's direction. On the right, a large scorpion and raven appear in the field.

On the reverse, a masculine figure, bearded and with bare head, stands frontal on a short ground line. Dressed in a short chiton and a mantle, he wields a hammer in his raised right hand and holds in his lowered left hand a downturned rhyton, the end of which takes the form of an animal's head and paws. This image, quite rare in sculpture, was directly inspired by a coin type from Thessalonica, in Macedonia, which corresponds to the cult of the god Kabiros, one of the city's protectors.Bonner 1950, 265, 326, no. 70, pl. 4; CIMRM 2366; Michel 2001, 55, no. 50, pl. 8; Michel 2004, 356, pl. 54, 3.