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Clay-Sealings from the FayumAuthor(s): J. G. MilneSource: The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 26 (1906), pp. 32-45Published by: The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/624341.
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2/15
CLAY-SEALINGS FROM
THE
FAYUM.
DURING
the excavations
of
Messrs.
Hogarth
Grenfell
and
Hunt
for the
Egypt Exploration
Fund in the
winter
of
1895-6
on
the site of
Karanis
(Kom
Ushim)
in the
Fayum,
a considerable number
of
clay-sealings
were
found,
mainly
in the cellars of
the Roman
houses. These
were
recently
put
in
my
hands
for
investigation
and offer some
interesting
material.
The
sealings
have
evidently
come from
various
kinds of
articles:
in
many
instances
the
clay
is too much
broken
for
any
determination
of the
shape
which it had taken to be
possible;
but
among
the better
preserved
pieces
are
examples
from the mouths of
bottles,
some of which
have been
squeezed
down into the neck like a
cork,
others
placed
over
a linen
covering,
sometimes
tied down with
cord: others are from the flat sides
of
wooden
boxes, often showing the marks of cord: others again from parcels of irregu-
lar
shape,
in some
cases
seemingly
wrapped
in
papyrus.
The
common
points
of all
are
that
they
consist of
lumps
of
Nile-mud,
and
that
they
have been
impressed,
while
the
clay
was
damp,
with
signets,
which were
presumably
those
of the
merchants
who
forwarded
the
goods upon
which
the
sealings
were
placed.
It
is
these
impressions
which
give
the interest to
this
collection,
and
they
are therefore
catalogued
in
the
following
list.
It should be
premised
that the
material
is not
a
good
one
for
taking
sharp impressions
from
intaglios,
and
therefore
the
descriptions
of
the
work
must in some cases be rather
vague.
Some of the
sealings,
also,
are
breaking
up
through
the
impregnation
of
the
clay
with
salt;
and
in
a few
instances
the
only
example
of
a
type
preserved
is
incomplete.
The
list,
however,
at-
tempts
to
give,
so far as
is
possible,
in
addition to
a
description
of
the
type
and
size
of
the
seal,
a
rough
classification of the
workmanship
:
the
number
of
impressions
of each
type
is added. In
the
descriptions,
the
position
of the
objects
is
as
they appear
on the
sealing.
A.-Graeco-Egyptian
and
Egyptian
Deities.
1. Head of Sarapis, facing, crownedwith modius.
Oval.
14
x 11 mm.
Fairly good.
(5)
2.
Bust
of
Sarapis
to
right,
wearing
modius:
hair bound
with
taenia.
Oval.
12
x
8
mm. Poor.
(3)
3.
Bust
of
Sarapis
to
right, wearing
modius:
hair bound
with
taenia.
Oval.
15
x
11 mm.
Fairly good.
(1)
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CLAY-SEALINGS
FROM THE FAYUM. 33
4.
Head of
Sarapis
to
right,
wearing
modius.
Oval.
15
x
10
nm.
Poor.
(5)
5. Head
of
Sarapis
to
right,
wearing
modius,
surrounded
by
legend
A
I
W)
N
C
APAl
IC
Oval. 12 x 10 mm. Moderate. (5)
6.
Bust
of
Sarapis
facing (impression
from
a
signet
in
high
relief).
(1)
7.
Head
of
Helios
Sarapis
to
right,
wearing
modius
and
radiate
crown:
in
front
an
object
(defaced).
Oval.
15
x
11 mm. Good.
(2)
8.
Sarapis
seated
to
right
on
throne with
high
back,
with
left
hand
stretched out
(part
of
impression
defaced).
Oval.
15
x
12 mm.
Fair
(?)
(1)
9.
Jugate
busts to
right
of
Sarapis,
wearing
modius and
taenia,
and
Isis,
crowned with
disk and
horns:
both
draped.
Oval.
12 5
x
10 5
mm. Fair. (11)
10.
Jugate
busts
to
right
of
Sarapis,
wearing
taenia,
and
Isis,
crowned
with disk and
horns:
both
draped.
Oval.
16 x
11-5 mm.
Fairly
good.
(2)
11.
Busts
of
Sarapis
to
right,
crowned with modius
:
behind,
bust of Isis
to
right,
crowned
with horns and
plumes:
before,
bust
of
hawk-headed
Horus
to
left,
crowned
with
modius.
Circular.
14
mm.
Rough.
(3)
12.
Busts
of
Sarapis
to
right, wearing
modius,
draped,
and hawk-headed
Horus
to
right,
draped,
divided
by
vertical line.
Circular.
11
mm.
Fairly
good.
(3)
13. Bust of
Sarapis
to
right,
flanked
by figures
of Dioscuri
standing
facing
with heads
turned inwards: below the bust, in two
lines,
the
name
WN
Rectangular.
16
x
12
mm.
Poor.
(1)
14.
Sarapis
standing
facing,
with
head
turned
to
left,
crowned with
modius,
wearing
chlamys
thrown
over
left
arm,
in
right
hand
holding patera
over
altar
: on
left,
Isis
standing
to
right,
crowned with
disk
and
horns,
wearing
long
chiton,
holding
in
left
hand
a wreath over head
of
Sarapis,
and
on
right
arm
a
cornucopiae.
Circular.
11
mm.
Fair.
(4)
15.
Bust
of
Sarapis
to
right,
crowned
with modius
:
below,
eagle
standing
with
wings
spread
and
raised,
head
to left.
Oval. 15 x
12
mm.
Coarse.
(2)
16.
Head
of
Sarapis
to
right:
in
front,
defaced
object
:
below,
eagle standing
turned
to
left,
with
wings
spread,
head
to
right.
Oval.
15 x 11
mm.
Coarse.
(1)
17.
Head of
Sarapis
to
right, wearing
taenia and crowned with
modius,
faced
by
ram
standing
to
left,
above
which
a
crescent.
Oval.
15 x11
mm.
Fair.
(4)
18.
Head
of
Sarapis
to
left,
crowned
with
modius,
faced
by
griffin standing
to
right.
Oval.
15 x
11
mm. Moderate.
(1)
19.
Bust of
Sarapis
to
right,
wearing
taenia and
crowned
with
modius,
flanked on
each
side
by
uraeus erect turned
inwards.
Circular. 19
mam.
Fairly
good.
(6)
20.
Bust of
Sarapis
to
right,
wearing
taenia and crowned
with
modius,
flanked on each
side
by
uraeus erect
turned inwards:
beneath,
a
horizontal line : below
this,
scarab
with
wings
spread.
Oval.
19
x 14
mm.
Poor.
(2)
IT.S.-VOL.
XXVI.
D
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34
J. G. MILNE
21.
Bust
of
Sarapis
to
right,
crowned
with modius :
behind,
a vulture
(?)
to
right,
in
front,
a
hawk
to
left,
both
standing
on
a
horizontal line: from
the middle
of
this,
a
vertical line
dividing
lower
part
of
field,
on
each
side of which
a
lion
walking
inwards:
at bottom,
scarab with
wings spread.
Oval.
17
x 13
mnn.
Poor.
(1)
22.
Head
of
Sarapis
to
right,
flanked
by
erect uraei
turned
inwards:
below,
two
lions
standing
facing
each other: at
bottom,
scarab with
wings spread.
Oval. 17
x
12
mim.
Poor.
(7)
23,
Isis
seated
to
right
on
high-backed
throne,
crowned
with disk
and
horns
and
wearing
a
long
chiton
: she nurses
an infant
Harpokrates
crowned
with
skhent,
raising
his
right
hand and
holding
in
his left a lotus-flower
(?)
:
in front
I
H
(or
HI).
Oval.
16 x 12
mrm.
Rough.
(8)
24.
Isis seated
nursing
Horus
as
on
23,
but
Horus
holds
nothing
in his left
hand.
Oval.
18 x
12
mrm.
Fair.
(1)
25. Bust of Horus, body facing, head to right, crowned with disk, and wearing deep
collar:
side-lock
shown.
Oval.
15 x
11
mm.
Fair.
(3)
26. Bust
of
Horus, body
facing,
head
to
right,
wearing deep
collar
: side-lock
shown.
Oval.
10
x
7
mm.
Moderate.
(4)
27.
Bust
of
Horus, body facing,
head to
right,
wearing deep
collar,
side
lock
shown:
in
front,
serpent.
Oval.
15
x
11
mm.
Coarse.
(1)
28.
Bust
of Horus as
on
27,
with
serpent
in front.
Oval.
12
x
9 mm.
Fairly
good.
(1)
29.
Bust
of
Horus,
hawk-headed,
body facing,
head
to
right,
crowned with
skhent
and
wearing deep collar.
Oval.
14 x 10
mm.
Fair.
(9)
30.
Bust of
Horus,
serpent-headed,
body facing,
head to
right, wearing deep
collar.
Oval. 12
x
9
mm.
Moderate.
(15)
31.
Horus
seated
to
right
on
ground,
with
knees
drawn
up,
crowned
with
skhent,
holding
out
serpent
in
his
right
hand.
Oval.
12
x
9 mm.
Rough.
(28)
32.
Horus
seated
with
serpent
as on
31.
Oval.
10
x
6 mm.
Poor.
(8)
33.
Horus
standing facing,
head
to
right,
nude,
holding up
a
serpent
in
each hand.
Oval.
12 x 9 mm.
Fair.
(13)
34.
Horus
standing
with
serpents
as on
33.
Oval.
14
x 10 mm.
Rough.
(5)
35.
Horus seated
to left on
throne,
wearing
long
robe : behind
him,
gazelle
to
right
(upper
part
only
shown):
before
him,
baboon seated
on
its haunches to
right:
above
this,
ibis
(?)
to
right
: over
his
head,
an indefinite
object:
he holds
out
a
snake
(or
scorpion)
with
both
hands.
Oval.
15 x 13 mm.
Poor.
(10)
36.
Horus
seated
to
left,
nude,
with knees drawn
up,
on basket
:
facing
him,
winged
griffin
seated
to
right,
with left
front
paw
raised
:
above
its
head,
uraens
erect
to
right
:
between
this
and head
of
Hornus,
scarab :
above
this,
scorpion
to
right.
Oval.
16
x 11
mm.
Fair.
(6)
37.
Horus
seated
to
right,
nude,
with knees
drawn
up,
disk
on head
:
facing
him,
hawk
standing
to left:
over
it,
disk and uraeus
(?)
to
left.
Oval.
17
x 13 mm.
Coarse.
(1)
38.
Bust
of
Harpokrates
to
right,
crowned
with
skhent,
finger
to
lips.
Oval.
8 x 5 mm.
Poor.
(6)
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5/15
CLAY-SEALINGS
FROM THE
FAYUM.
35
39.
Harpokrates
standing
to
left,
nude,
wiLh
right
hand to
lips,
and
cornucopiae
on
left
arm.
Oval.
12
x
8 mm. Fair.
(13)
40.
Harpokrates
(?)
standing
to
left,
nude,
with
right
hand
raised,
left
resting
on
sceptre:
in
front,
altar.
Oval.
11
x 8
mm. Fair.
(1)
41.
Harpokrates
seated
to
left,
on
lotus-flower,
nude,
disk on
head,
with
right
hand to
lips,
holding
club
in
left.
Oval.
13 x
10
mm.
Poor.
(2)
42.
Harpokrates
seated
on horse
advancing
to
right,
nude,
crowned
with
skhent
(?),
head
turned
back,
hand
to
lips.
Oval.
12
x 9 mm.
Rude.
(12)
43.
Harpokrates
seated
to
right,
apparently
nude
and crowned with
modius,
left
hand
to
lips,
right holding scourge
over
shoulder,
on ram
walking
to
right.
Oval.
16 x 11
mm.
Fair.
(1)
44.
Harpokrates
seated to
left,
nude,
with
right
hand to
mouth,
on back of
androsphinx
couched
to
right.
Circular.
12
mm.
Poor.
(1)
45.
Bust
of
Hershef,
ram-headed,
facing,
showing
horns on each
side,
wearing
hem-hem
crown.
Oval.
15
x
11
mm.
Rough.
(2)
46.
Bust of Zeus
Ammon to
right,
draped,
crowned with disk.
Oval.
15
x 12
mm.
Fair.
(1)
47.
Bust
of
Zeus
Ammon to
right,
draped,
crowned
with
disk.
Rectangular.
12
x 10
mm.
Fair.
(3)
48. Head of Zeus Ammon to right, crowned with disk : below, ram standing to right
crowned with
disk
and
horns.
Oval. 17
x
13
mm.
Rough.
(1)
49.
Anubis,
jackal-headed,
standing
facing,
head to
left, nude,
holding
palm-branch
(?)
in
right
hand,
in left
caduceus:
chlamys
thrown
over
left
arm.
Oval.
14
x 10 mm.
Fair.
(12)
50.
Hermanubis
standing
facing,
head to
left, nude,
with
legs
crossed,
and left
elbow
resting
on
pillar
:
in
right
hand
palm-branch,
in
left
caduceus
(?)
Oval.
15
x 12
ramm.
Fair.
(1)
51. Bust
of
Osiris,
facing,
wearing
atef
(?) crown,
scourge
over
each
shoulder.
Oval.
14 x 12
mm.
Rude.
(5)
B.-Greek
Deities and
Mythical Figures.
52.
Bust
of
Athene to
right,
wearing
helmet :
in
front,
spear
upright.
Oval.
12
x
10 mm.
Fair.
(19)
53.
Athene
advancing
to
right
wearing
long chiton,
left
hand
raised,
with
right
seizing
serpent
erect
in
front.
Oval.
12 x 9 mm.
Poor.
(41)
54. Bust
of
Apollo
to
right,
wearing
taenia,
chlamys
over
shoulders
(of
archaistic
style).
Oval.
10 x
9
mm. Fair.
(3)
55.
Bust of
Helios to
right,
wearing
radiate
crown,
chlamys
over
shoulders.
Oval. 13
x
9
mm. Fair.
(8)
56.
Head of
Herakles to
right,
bearded,
wearing
taenia.
Oval.
17
x
15 mm.
Coarse.
(3)
57. Head of
Herakles
to
right,
bearded.
Oval. 15
x
11
mm.
Fair.
(2)
D2
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CLAY-SEALINGS FROM THE
FAYUM.
37
78.
Stamp
divided into two
compartments
vertically
:
in
left
one,
uraeus
serpent
erect
to
right:
in
right,
]3q
dotwnwards:
surrounded
by
line-border
(?
'Opao-rok0ts).
Rectangular.
30
x 25 mm.
Rough.
(42)
79. Uraeus serpent with head of Sarapis, erect to left, crowned with modius, confronted
by
uraeus with head
of
Isis,
erect
to
right,
crowned
with
disk
and
horns
:
both
on
basket-base.
Oval.
16 x 12
mm. Moderate.
(3)
80.
Serpent
with human
head
erect to
right,
crowned
with
plumes,
confronted
by
hawk
standing
to
left.
Oval.
16
x
13
mm.
Rude.
(3)
81.
Agathodaemon
serpent
with
human head
erect
to
right,
crowned with modius
(?),
holding
in
its
coils stalks of corn.
Oval. 16 x 11
mm.
Fair.
(3)
D.
-Miscellaneous
Scenes.
82.
Figure
of a man with
right
hand
raised,
in
chariot
drawn
by
two horses
advancing
to
left.
Circular.
12
mm.
Poor.
(1)
83.
Figure riding
to
right,
with
right
hand
raised,
apparently
on a bull with its tail
in
the
air
:
before
this a
male
figure
reclining
to
left,
with
right
hand
outstretched,
and
cornucopiae
(?)
on
left arm
(perhaps
Nilus).
Oval.
16 x 10
mm.
Moderate.
(4)
84.
Bearded
figure
standing
to
left,
wearing
short
chiton
and
extending
hand
to
smaller
figure
in
front
standing
to
right
with hand
raised
:
on the
left,
an indefinite
object:
on the right, a palm-tree and a hawk (?) standing to left: below, a line, beneath
which two
figures
looking
towards one another with
hands
raised
over an
altar
(?)
and to
right
of
these
three
figures facing
with both
arms raised.
Oval. 18
x
15
mm. Rude.
(2)
85.
Three
figures standing
facing,
in
long
robes.
Circular.
12
imm.
Moderate.
(2)
86.
Three
figures standing facing,
in
long
robes:
the
centre
one
with both
arms
raised,
the outer ones
with
outer
arm
raised
in
each case.
Circular.
13
mm. Rude.
(1)
87.
Nike
flying
to
right,
in
long
chiton,
holding
out wreath over
figure
lying
on
ground.
Oval. 15 x 10
mm.
Fair.
(5)
88. In centre, tree, on
right
of which a man
(?)
standing
to
right,
with altar in front: on
left,
an animal
standing
to
right
with
head
turned back.
Oval.
13
x
10 mm. Poor.
(1)
89.
Lion
springing
to
right
on
gazelle
couched
to
right
with head turned
back.
Oval.
16 x
12
mm.
Fair.
(6)
90.
Modius filled with
corn
:
serpent
issuing
to
right:
below,
indefinite
object.
Oval.
17
x 11
mm.
Moderate.
(2)
E.-Busts
:
possibly
Portraits.
91.
Female
bust
to right, hair bound with taenia (possibly Cleopatra VII).
Oval. 21
x
16
mm. Moderate.
(1)
92.
Bust to
right,
with
Egyptian royal
headdress
: in
front,
AflO
Oval. 15
x
1
mrm.
Fair.
(1)
93.
Bust to
right,
with
Egyptian
royal
headdress:
beneath,
crocodile
to
right.
Oval.
14x
10
mrm.
Fair.
(1)
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40 J.
G.
MILNE
remains
of
large
figures
of
him
are
extant,
minor
representations
in bronze
or
terracotta
are
proportionately
rare;
and almost
all conform
to one
or
two
fixed
types,
one
seated,
the
other
standing.
It would
perhaps
be
fair
to
describe
Sarapis
as a
god
who was
worshipped
in
temples.
Isis is much more
frequently
mentioned than
Sarapis,
though commonly
with the
addition
of
one of
her
myriad
names,
marking
her as
a
local
form of
the
goddess
which
had
possibly
been
quite
distinct
in
origin;
and
her
worship
was
usually
joined
and
subordinated to
that of
some
male
god.
Her
temples,
or
rather
shrines,
were
apparently
of small
official
account:
in
the
ordinances
of
Ptolemy
Euergetes
II
they
are
classed with
animal
shrines,
and such
evidence
as
is
given
by
the
papyri concerning
them
goes
to show that
they
were
not
endowed,
but
depended
for
their
support
on
the
offerings
of
the
pious
and
the
begging of the priests. The essential importance of the Isis worship seems
to
have
been
in
the
fact
that it
was a link
with an
earlier
period
of
Egyptian
religion:
she
was
a
native
goddess,
who
was
allowed
to
remain
in
the
official
triad;
and,
though
crowded
out of
the first
place
in
the
temples,
was
kept
in
evidence
by
the
priests.
She
had
become
the
goddess
of the
wayside.
The
popular
god,
however,
was
Horus,
especially
in
the form
of
Harpokrates:
terracotta
statuettes
of
him,
in
a
multitude
of
types,
abound
at
every
Graeco-
Roman
site
in
Egypt,
though
there are
few
references
to
his
worship
in the
written
records,
and
he
was
rarely
the
principal deity
to
whom
a
temple
was
dedicated.
He
was
essentially
the
god
of
the house.
The
types
of
Sarapis
on
the
sealings
do
not call for
much remark:
as
noted
above,
they
generally
follow
regular types.
There was
a
tendency
in
the
Roman
period
to
develop
a
pantheistic
form,
beginning
with
the fusion
of
Zeus
and
Helios
with
Sarapis,
and
extending
later
to
the
inclusion
of Ammon
and
14
17
22
Poseidon: the head
of
Helios
Sarapis
(7)
is
an
instance
of this in
the
earlier
stages,
with which
may
be
compared
the Helios
Ammon
of
the
Oxyrhynchus
lists.
As has
been
remarked
previously,
the
representation
of
a
bust
of
Sarapis
flanked
by
figures
of the Dioscuri
(13)
is
interesting,
on
account
of
its
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CLAY-SEALINGS
FROM
THE FAYUM.
41
correspondence
with
the
reverse-type
of
a coin
of
Antoninus Pius,
a
name
taking
on
the
seal
the
place
of the
date on
the
coin;
and
the
group
of
Sarapis
crowned
by
Isis
(14)
is
also traceable
to a
coin-type.
The association
of
the
bust of
Sarapis
with an
eagle,
a ram, or a griffin can likewise be paralleled on
coins;
but
the
more
complex
groups,
especially
those
in which
the
lion
occurs
(21
and
22),
are
exceptional,
and
are
probably
due
to
Gnostic
influence.
Some
Gnostic
connexions
are also traceable
in the
Horus-types,
especially
on Nos.
35
and
36,
where
the
association
with
the
gazelle
in one case
and
the
scorpion
in
the
other
are
particularly
noticeable.
In
nearly
all
examples
a
serpent
appears,
either
in the
field
or
held
by
Horus,
which
may
also
be
23
35
(and
9)
36
put
down
as
a
Gnostic
symbol.
The
types
which
are
marked
by
the
position
of
the
hand of the
deity against
his
lips
as
representing
Harpokrates
are
more
distinctively
Graeco-Egyptian,
both
in
style
and
attributes,
and can
generally
be
paralleled
from Alexandrian
coins,
which
show
nothing
corresponding
to
39
41
45
the
Horus-types.
One
or two
of the
forms
of
Harpokrates
may
be
assign-
able
to
special
localities-the
Harpokrates
on the lotus
(41)
is taken
to
represent
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12/15
42
J.
G.
MILNE
Harpokrates
of
Taua,
and the
Harpokrates
on
the
androsphinx
Harpokrates
of
Buto,
while
the
figure
on
the
ram
carrying
a
scourge may
be
Harpokrates
of
Mendes; but,
as these
types
were
used
on the Alexandrian
coinage, they
would be disseminated
through Egypt,
and cannot be taken as marking
definitely
a
connexion between
the
sealings
and
the
special
centres
of
the
worship
of
Harpokrates.
The
type
of
Harpokrates
on
the
lotus
reappears
on
the
Oxyrhynchus
signets.
The bust
of
Hershef
(45)
is of
a more
distinctly
local
character,
and
is
not,
so
far
as
known
at
present,
a
coin-type:
in
this
case there is
some
probability
that the
signet
from which the
impression
was
taken
belonged
to an inhabitant
of
Herakleopolis
Magna,
the seat
of this
deity.
The
only
remaining
examples
amongst
those
classed
as
of
Graeco-
Egyptian and Egyptian deities which offer points of interest are those of
Anubis
and
Hermanubis
(49
and
50),
which
stand in
much
the same relation
as
those
of
Horus
and
Harpokrates:
the
jackal-headed
Anubis
is the
more
48
49
Egyptian
form,
and
possibly
is
influenced
by
Gnostic
ideas,
while Herm-
anubis
appears
in a
Greek
type
closely
related
to
that
of Hermes and similar
to
that
of
the
Alexandrian
coins.
There
are
comparatively
few
among
these
sealings
which can be
called
distinctly
Greek:
of
those
which
have been
placed
under this
head,
the
two
types of Athene (52 and 53) are very probablyassignable to the influence of
her
worship
at
Oxyrhynchus,
where
she was
identified
with the
local
goddess
Thoeris:
this
is the
more
likely
as
these
types
are
very
closely
related to
two which
commonly appear
on a
class
of leaden
pieces
of which
large
num-
bers have
been found
at
Oxyrhynchus,
and which
almost
certainly
represent
a local
token-currency.
The
Tyche types
(59
and
60)
are
probably
taken
from
Alexandrian
coins;
and
the
types
of
Herakles,
while
not
directly
traceable to
coins
may perhaps
have
been
suggested
by
the
series
of
represen-
tations of the
labours of
Herakles issued from
the Alexandrian
mint
under
Antoninus Pius, unless they are due to the equation of Herakles with
Hershef
at
Herakleopolis
Magna.
It
may
be
noted
that
Athene,
Tyche,
and
Herakles,
as
well as
Apollo,
are all to be found
among
the
Oxyrhynchus
signets.
The
most
definitely
Hellenic
of all the
sealings
is
really
the
group
of
Leda
with the
swan
(61):
which
was,
for
some
reason,
a
very
popular
subject
in
Egyptian
art
down
to
Coptic
times.
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13/15
LAY-SEALINGS
FROM THE
FAYUM. 43
The
class of
animal-forms does
not
provide
much
of
interest.
The
hawk-
headed
crocodile
of
No. 64
is
probably
Soknopaios,
the local form
of
the
crocodile
god
Sebek
worshipped
at
Soknopaiou
Nesos
(Dim&h)
in
the
Fayum,
61
58
as
he
seems
to
have
been
represented
in
this
shape.
The
comparative
common-
ness of
serpent-types-though
both
the
human-headed
serpent,
the
8pa/ovrr6-
/op'bov of Oxyrhynchus,and the uraeus with disk or royal crownare frequently
79
67
found
on Alexandrian
coins-may
be
due
to
some
extent
to
Gnosticism:
in
one
case
at
any
rate
(72)
a Gnostic influence
is
marked
by
the addition
of
a
key.
It
is
possible
that
No.
78
is intended
as a
rebus-the
serpent
with
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14/15
44 J. G. MILNE
the
letters
Opa- representing
the
name,
common
in
the
Fayum
during
the
Graeco-Roman
period,
of
'Opo-evo0O4tv.
In
class
D
there are
some
puzzling groups,
which
need
further
explana-
tion. No 82-a
figure
of a man in a
biga-is
probably
borrowed from the
coin-type
representing
an
emperor
which
was
among
the
commonest
on
Alex-
andrian
large
bronze
of
the
second
century.
The
attitude
of
the
reclining
82
84
figure
on No.
83
suggests
that
it
is
Nilus-and in this case
the
figure
riding
towards
him on a bull
may
be the
genius
of
the
inundation. The worn
con-
dition
of the
examples
of
Nos.
85 and
86,
as
well as the
rough
work of
the
signets,
makes
it
impracticable
to
say
what
was
intended
by
the
groups
of
three
figures;
and the
same
difficulties
prevent
the
interpretation
of
the
more
complicated
scenes
on
Nos. 84 and
88.
Some
of the busts classed under
E
may
be intended
for
portraits,
or
they
may
be
of
a
generic
nature,
as
were
presumably
the
'philosophers'
who
ap-
peared
on two
Oxyrhynchus signets.
But,
if
their
origin
may
be looked
for
on
coins,
the
female bust
on
No. 91
shows considerable
similarity
to
that of
Cleopatra
VII on her
copper
coins,
while
the
busts
with
Egyptian
royal
head-
dress of
Nos. 92
and
93
resemble the
types
of
Arsinoite
nome-coins
struck
under Hadrian-the possible connexion with which is strengthened in the
case
of No.
93
by
the
addition under
the
bust
of
a
crocodile,
also
a
type
of
the coins of the same nome in the same
reign.
Among
the
last
group,
the
only signet
calling
for
special
note
is No.
99,
which
is the most
distinctly
Gnostic of
all,
with
the
representation
of
a
key
flanked
by
two
mystic
words.
From
the
foregoing
remarks,
it will
be seen
that,
in a
large
proportion
of
instances,
the
sealings
show a
close
analogy
to
Alexandrian
coin-types;
the
most
noticeable
exceptions
being
in
the
cases
where Gnostic
influence
is
traceable, especially in the group of representations of Horus. And, so far as
it
is
possible
to
judge
of the
style
of
the
signets,
there is
a
certain distinction
of treatment which is
parallel
to
this division
of
the
types.
The
figures
drawn
from
Greek
mythology,
and also
those of
the Alexandrian triad-Sara-
pis,
Isis,
and
Harpokrates-are
unmistakeably
Greek
in
style:
pose
and
dress
are
alike derived
from
Greek
tradition;
and
the
designs
which
are not to be
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15/15
CLAY
SEALINGS
FROM THE
FAYUM.
45
found on Alexandrian coins are executed in a manner so similar
to that of
the
coin-types
that the
seal-engravers
might
be
regarded
as
workmen
of the
same
school
as the
men
employed
in
the
mint
of Alexandria. On the
other
hand,
the influence of native
Egyptian
ideas in the execution of the
figures
of Horus
is
equally
clear
in
every
way:
the
difference
is
not
simply
due to
the
endeav-
our of the artist to
give
a
purely Egyptian
character to his
representation
of
the
god,
as
may
be
seen
if
the
treatment of the bust with
Egyptian
royal
headdress
(No.
92),
which,
notwithstanding
the
subject,
is
Greek in
effect,
is contrasted with that
of
any
of
the busts of Horus
(Nos.
25
to
28).
It
is
of
course
impossible
to
say
where
the.
seals were
made,
or
even
where
they
were
used. The
accumulation of
the
clay
impressions
at
Karanis
only
marks
the
spot
where
the
goods
were
unpacked:
they
may
have
been
packed and sealed anywhere in the Nile valley. And the types are, for the
most
part,
such
as can
hardly
be
definitely
localised: the
bust of
Hershef
(No.
45)
would
be most
likely
to be used
by
an
inhabitant
of
HIerakleopolis
Magna,
the
figure
of Athene
(Nos.
52 and
53)
by
one of
Oxyrhynchus,
that
of
Soknopaios
(No.
64)
by
one of
Soknopaiou
Nesos;
but
Sarapis
or
Horus,
Helios
or
Tyche,
a
sphinx
or a
serpent,
might
be
expected
equally
well
in
almost
any
district
of
Egypt.
The Nile-mud
of
the
sealings
limits
them
to
Egypt;
but
no closer definition
is
possible.
And the
signets
themselves
may
have
been
made
at
Alexandria,
or
by
local
workmen
in
the
country
towns;
but,
except
in
one
or
two
instances,
there
is
nothing
in
style
or
subject
to
suggest
any
likelihood that they were imported into
Egypt.
It is
fairly
safe to
say
that
they
represent
the
kind of
work
executed for
ordinary
use
in
Egypt
about the
middle
of
the
second
century
A.D.
J.
G.
MILNE.
NOTE.-The
illustrations
are derived
from
photographs,
which
have
been
slightly
enlarged
and
touched
up
for
purposes
of
reproduction
by
Mr. F. Anderson after examination of the original sealings. I have deposited
a
set
of
negatives,
showing examples
of all
the
types
described,
with
the
Hellenic
Society.