30.5 
G E 
Gliilan in Perlia ; who, flying from his country, fet¬ 
tled ill the city ot'Tunda, now called Cthoiir, and which, 
in its proi'pcrity, was the capital of the extenfive king¬ 
dom of PStan. 'I'-he verfes engraved upon the feal fig- 
nify: Thou gavel! me for my help fix gifts; knowledge, 
experience, liberality, faith., clemency, and health ; but 
thou alone, O God, art jult! the only one upon whofe 
title there is no fpot.” 'I'lie date, which clears up all 
doubts as to the identity and the epoch of this i'atima, 
is not exprelied in numeral figures, but by the numeral 
letters of tlie infeription irfclf, taken together and cal¬ 
culated by addition; whence it appears that this Perlian 
queen mult Inive lived about fix hundred years after the 
birth of Muhamed el Mudany ; and confequently this 
feal mult have been engraved between feven and eight 
hundred years. 
Fig. 21. Two winged lions rampant, onafulphur; 
betwixt them an ercited palm-branch or hieroglyphi- 
cal figure, witli an infeription at the top : it is a Per- 
fudn lignet. 22. Mercury, or Hermes PJychagogos., the 
conductor of Ibu',., cut in a flriped onyx, carrying in 
his left arm the figure of an old man naked. Ke is cha- 
ratlerifed by the petafus on his right Ihoulder, and the 
caduceus in his right hand. Inmythology, Merctiry is 
confidered as the pacificator amongfi men, as well as tiie 
luelfenger of tlie gods. liis petafus or winged cap is the 
emblem-of his fervitude to the fuperior deities; and his 
caduceus is the emblem of peace, and was the inftrument 
he uftd in performing liis office of conducling the fouls 
of men to hades, the regions of the dead. 23. Achilles 
putting on his bulkins, in cornelian; at a diftance Mi¬ 
nerva is feen in the afit of caking the javelin. This and 
tl'iC preceding are very 'curious gems in the old Grecian 
kylc. The latter is very fingular, and perhaps unique, 
with regard to the Roman infcrij'.'tion PKRIC, which 
feems to allude to the great danger of the Greeks, which 
Achilles went to difpel. 24. A typhon or giant, cut in 
white agate or chalcedony, with his left arm wrapped 
in a Ikin, and throwing a huge ftonc with his right. Thus 
the giants were of old depibled, having the lower ex¬ 
tremities formed like the bodies and tails of ferpents, 
in the place ol legs and feet. 25. A cornelian, with 
Cybele mounted on a lion, wearing a mural crown, her 
feeptre in the left hand, and a bunch of corn in her right, 
emblematical of th.e fecundity of the earth. 26. A cor¬ 
nelian, w ith a nercid, perhaps Amymone, carried off by 
a triton: it is a beautiful gem. 27. A yellow jafper, 
with two winged lions, bearing the heads of kings, 
bearded, and crowned : it is a very ancient Perfepolitan 
gem. 28. A fulphur, with an Indian bull, characlcr- 
ifed by tlie bunch upon the back, and a crel'cent or half 
moon on the rump : it is a very ancient and uncommon 
gem, of Indian worknumlhip. 29. An emerald, with a 
lion, over which is an infeription in Shanferit cha- 
i-atters; this is alfo an Indian gem, brought from Benares 
in Bengal. 30. A hyacinth, with th.e bull: of a Parthian 
or Perlian king, having a tiara on his head ornamented 
with pearls, and pendants in his ears. The infeription 
is in a charabler at prelcnt undefined, though it bears a 
great refeiublance to the Ch.aldaic Flebrevv. Whether 
thele gems reprefent the Parthian Arfaecidte, whofe fuc- 
cellion is well known, or the Perfian Sallanides, who 
fubdued the Parth.ians that were lo formidable to the 
Romans in the 225th year of the Chrillian era, and wlio 
reigned over Perlia till 651, hils not been fatisfabforily 
afeertained ; though it appears that they had preferved 
a part of tlie cullonis and religious practices of the an¬ 
cient Pcrlians, who were anceltors both of tlie Parthians 
and Sallanides. Thele gems found their way to Eng¬ 
land from Baflbra. 31. An Arabian device in the lhape 
of a heart, cut in greenjafper, very fplendidly engraved, 
with an Arabic infcriptio.i in the centre, and written 
round la a form refembling embroidered nuiflin. 32. An 
Egyptian bull: of Ills, in green jafper, with a head-drefs 
cl fe.ithers placed on her veil, which hangs down upon 
VOL. VIII. No. 504. 
M. 
lier ffionlders, and feems to be decorated with embroidery 
and fillets of pearls, as well as round her neck. Tlie 
head-drefs is nothing more than the veil folded back 
upon the forehead, and lined with feathers ; fo that it 
bears llrift analogy with the wings that are conftantly 
found with a globe and two fei-pents among the hiero¬ 
glyphics fculptured upon the Egyptian monuments and 
temples ; hence the gem is perfectly charablerillic. The 
gems in this engraving are clalTed from the ch.oicefi: fpe- 
ciinens in Mr. Taflie’s vail collebtion. 
Plate III. confifis principally of cameos. Fig. 33. A 
group of tiie nymphs of Nyfa teacliing the young Bac¬ 
chus to ride upon a lion : a gem very finely executed. 
34. Jupiter hurling his thunderbolts at the giants; de- 
icriptive of the Titanic war. This fine fubjebl was 
preferved in the Farnefe Mufeiim at Naples, v/ith the 
name of the artik aGHNION, and has defervedly a place 
among tlie choicell of the cameos. In the heathen my¬ 
thology, the giants and Titans are fabled to have fprung 
from the earth, and are reprefented with two lerpents 
inllead of thighsand legs, in allufion to their origin being 
limilar to that of reptiles, which creep out of, and re¬ 
turn into, the bowels of the earth. Autlicrs, however, 
are not agreed as to the precife form or number of the 
Titans. The forms arc fculptured on many ancient mo¬ 
numents, but with fome variation, in this cameo the 
ferpents commence clofe up to the trunk ; but in a far- 
cophagus of the fculptor Penna, preferved in the pope’s 
muleuin at Rome, they commence only at the knees. 
Ten Titans appear there in combat, but the gods are 
not reprefented. In tlie mufeum of the Roman college 
is alfo preferved a relievo, in filver, of Pallas llriking 
Enceladus, one of the Titans, with iiglitning; a fubjebl 
which is alfo found among the moll valuable gems and 
medals. In reference to the Titanic war, or war of the 
giants, Milton alludes in that fublime palfage. 
Hell heard th’ unfnfterable noife— 
■-confounded chaos roar’d. 
And felt tenfold confufion ! Paradife LoJ}. 
Fig. 35. Roman nuptiais. This gem is a fardonyx ; and 
tlie figures reprefent a female friend, or perhaps Juno 
Pronuba, delivering the betrothed to her fpoufe, who 
receives her in the attitude of ceryiiiony, holding her 
right hand in his. The ceremony may be tiiat called 
coemptio, which was much more common than the diffa- 
reatio. Tacitus fays the latter, which was the more fo- 
lemnform, was generally laid alide, bccaufe it included 
many troubleloiiie and expenfive ceremonies. Tlie 
contrabl of the coemptio was made by the parties mu¬ 
tually giving and receiving a piece of money. The 
bride was crowned with flowers, marjoram, or vervain; 
and her head and upper part of the face was covered 
with the Jlammeum or wedding v^il. This vve find dif. 
tinfilly reprefented in all remains of ancient fculptiire 
which exhibit the marriage rite. In the beautiful gem 
in the collefilion of his grace the duke of Marlborough, 
reprefenting the marriage of Cupid and Pfyche, the 
flaiiuiieimi covers tiie face of the little god as ivell as 
that of the bride. In this gem the figures are molt 
claffically exprelied, and the draperies are inimitable. 
Fig. 36. This cameo reprefents Danae in gentle re- 
pofe, and not at all elated by the golden lliower which 
pours into her bolpin. The god of love appears folici- 
tous to drop the curtain or veil, to obltrufil or provoke 
the defires of Jupiter. The figure of Danae is extremely 
ivell ftudiecl, after a bas-relief of Leda, by Michael An- 
gelo. 
big* 37 - Ganymede giving the cup to the eagle; ex¬ 
ecuted probably after a defign of Michael Angelo. This 
cameo is beautifully engraved, and is in the colledtion 
of his grace the duke of Marlborough. 38. Minerva 
dellroying a giant; in antique palle. 39. A cornelian, 
with an heroic figure of Jupiter. In his right hand hs 
holds the thunderbolt, and the regis or goat’s Ikin in his 
4 F left 5 
