“The Curious Case of the Octagonal Gemstones: A Possible New Pagan and Early Christian Workshop in Turkey”
Sponsored by Spokane Society
AIA Society Event: Spokane
Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Location:
Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture
2316 W. 1st Avenue
Spokane, WA 99204
United States
Dr. Andrew Goldman (Gonzaga University)
Octagonal intaglios represent a curious, relatively rare gemstone category within museum and private collections. Dating to late Roman imperial period (2nd-4th centuries AD), they bear a wide range of conventional pagan and early Christian symbols and inscriptions. These eight-sized gems have received little scholarly attention, however, and their exact provenance has remained elusive. During the 1950s, excavation at Gordion in central Turkey unearthed 51 Roman graves, within which were recovered nine rings of gold, silver, iron and bronze with carved intaglios. One-third of the gemstones are octagonal, providing this rare type with a secure archaeological context. A rising number of newly excavated and published examples from the past decade have raised the possibility that these octagonals are the product of an unknown central Anatolian workshop, one which catered to a mixed pagan and Christian clientele.
Contact:
Professor Andrew Goldman
goldman@gonzaga.edu
509-313-6691
