Lot 1746 A ROMAN RED JASPER INTAGLIO WITH A BUST OF MEN, 1ST-2ND CENTURY AD

A Roman intaglio in dark red jasper showing a bust of Men facing left wearing a Phrygian cap and a bipennis or labrys over his shoulder. Below the draped bust is a lunate crescent, another attribute of the god. Men was very popular in Asia Minor where his cult had many adherents in the 2/3rd centuries AD.
15 by 12 mm.

Mēn is often found in association with Persianate elements, especially with the goddess Anahita. Lunar symbolism dominates his iconography. The god is usually shown with the horns of a crescent emerging from behind his shoulders, and he is described as the god presiding over the (lunar) months. Strabo describes Mēn as a local god of the Phrygians. Mēn may be influenced by the Zoroastrian lunar divinity Mah.

PROVENANCE
From a European collection formed in the 1980's.