Clay-Sealings From The Fayum

Clay-Sealings from the Fayum
Author(s): J. G. Milne
Source: The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 26 (1906), pp. 32-45
Published by: The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/624341 .
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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 irregular 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, attempts 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, crowned with modius.
Oval. 14 x 11 mm.
Fairly good.
2. Bust of Sarapis to right, wearing modius: hair bound with taenia.
Poor.
Oval. 12 x 8 mm.
3. Bust of Sarapis to right, wearing modius: hair bound with taenia.
Oval. 15 x 11 mm.
Fairly good.

(5)
(3)
(1)
CLAY-SEALINGS
4.
5.
6.
FROM THE FAYUM.
33
Head of Sarapis to right, wearing modius.

Oval. 15 x 10 nm.
Poor.
(5)
Head of Sarapis to right, wearing modius, surrounded by legend A IW)N C APAl IC
Oval. 12 x 10 mm.
Moderate.
(5)
Bust of Sarapis facing (impression from a signet in high relief).
(1)
Head of Helios Sarapis to right, wearing modius and radiate crown: in front an object
(defaced).
Good.
Oval. 15 x 11 mm.
(2)
8. Sarapis seated to right on throne with high back, with left hand stretched out (part of
impression defaced).
Fair (?)
Oval. 15 x 12 mm.
(1)
9. Jugate busts to right of Sarapis, wearing modius and taenia, and Isis, crowned with
disk and horns: both draped.
x
Fair.
Oval.
mm.
(11)
12"5 10"5
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.
(3)
Rough.
12. Busts of Sarapis to right, wearing modius, draped, and hawk-headed Horus to right,
draped, divided by vertical line.
Circular. 11 mm.
(3)
Fairly good.
13. Bust of Sarapis to right, flanked by figures of Dioscuri standing facing with heads
7.
turned inwards: below the bust, in two lines, the name
WN
Poor.
16 x 12 mm.
(1)
Rectangular.
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.
Fair.
Circular. 11 mm.
(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.
Fair.
Oval. 15 x11 mm.
(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. 19mam.
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)
D
IT.S.-VOL. XXVI.

34
21.
22.
23,
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
J. G. MILNE
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)
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)
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
(8)
Rough.
mrm.
Isis seated nursing Horus as on 23, but Horus holds nothing in his left hand.
Fair.
Oval. 18 x 12
(1)
mrm.
Bust of Horus, body facing, head to right, crowned with disk, and wearing deep
collar: side-lock shown.
Fair.
Oval. 15 x 11 mm.
(3)
Bust of Horus, body facing, head to right, wearing deep collar : side-lock shown.
Moderate.
Oval. 10 x 7 mm.
(4)
Bust of Horus, body facing, head to right, wearing deep collar, side lock shown:
in front, serpent.
Coarse.
Oval. 15 x 11 mm.
(1)
Bust of Horus as on 27, with serpent in front.
Oval. 12 x 9 mm.
Fairly good.
(1)
Bust of Horus, hawk-headed, body facing, head to right, crowned with skhent and
wearing deep collar.
Fair.
Oval. 14 x 10 mm.
(9)
Bust of Horus, serpent-headed, body facing, head to right, wearing deep collar.
Moderate.
Oval. 12 x 9 mm.
(15)
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.
(28)
Rough.
Horus seated with serpent as on 31.
Poor.
Oval. 10 x 6 mm.
(8)
to
head
Horus standing facing,
right, nude, holding up a serpent in each hand.
Fair.
Oval. 12 x 9 mm.
(13)
Horus standing with serpents as on 33.
Oval. 14 x 10 mm.
(5)
Rough.
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.
Poor.
Oval. 15 x 13 mm.
(10)
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.
Fair.
Oval. 16 x 11 mm.
(6)
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.
Coarse.
Oval. 17 x 13 mm.
(1)
Bust of Harpokrates to right, crowned with skhent, finger to lips.
Poor.
Oval. 8 x 5 mm.

(6)
CLAY-SEALINGS
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
FROM
THE
FAYUM.
35
Harpokrates standing to left, nude, wiLh right hand to lips, and cornucopiae on
left arm.
Fair.
Oval. 12 x 8 mm.
(13)
Harpokrates (?) standing to left, nude, with right hand raised, left resting on sceptre:
in front, altar.
Fair.
Oval. 11 x 8 mm.
(1)
to
on
seated
lotus-flower, nude, disk on head, with right hand to
left,
Harpokrates
lips, holding club in left.
Oval. 13 x 10 mm.
Poor.
(2)
to right, nude, crowned with skhent (?), head
on
horse
seated
advancing
Harpokrates
turned back, hand to lips.
Rude.
Oval. 12 x 9 mm.
(12)
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)
seated
to
with
hand
to
on
back
of
left,
mouth,
nude,
right
Harpokrates
androsphinx
couched to right.
Poor.
Circular. 12 mm.
(1)
Bust of Hershef, ram-headed, facing, showing horns on each side, wearing hem-hem
crown.
Oval. 15 x 11 mm.
Rough.
(2)
Bust of Zeus Ammon to right, draped, crowned with disk.
Oval. 15 x 12 mm.
Fair.
(1)
Bust of Zeus Ammon to right, draped, crowned with disk.
Fair.
Rectangular. 12 x 10 mm.
(3)
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)
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)
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)
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.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
Bust of Athene to right, wearing helmet : in front, spear upright.

Oval. 12 x 10 mm.
Fair.
(19)
Athene advancing to right wearing long chiton, left hand raised, with right seizing
serpent erect in front.
Oval. 12 x 9 mm.
Poor.
(41)
Bust of Apollo to right, wearing taenia, chlamys over shoulders (of archaistic style).
Fair.
Oval. 10 x 9 mm.
(3)
Bust of Helios to right, wearing radiate crown, chlamys over shoulders.
Oval. 13 x 9 mm.
Fair.
(8)
Head of Herakles to right, bearded, wearing taenia.
Oval. 17 x 15 mm.
Coarse.
(3)
Head of Herakles to right, bearded.
Oval. 15 x 11 mm.
Fair.
(2)
D2

36
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
J. G. MILNE
Herakles standing facing, head to right, nude, holding out on left hand figure of Nike,
in right hand lion-skin and club.
Oval. 15 x 9 mim.
Fair.
(2)
Tyche standing to right, wearing long chiton and peplos, crowned with modius: in
left hand rudder, on right arm cornucopiae.
Fair.
Oval. t15x 10
(7)
rmm.
to
left, wearing long chiton, crowned with modius: in right hand
Tyche standing
rudder, on left arm cornucopiae.
Oval. 18 x 14 mm.
Fairly good.
(1)
Leda reclining to left, with robe over legs, embraced by swan.
Oval. 14 x 11
Moderate.
(7)
amm.
Gorgoneion.
Fair.
Oval. 18 x 14 mm.
(2)
C.-Egyptian
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
75.
76.
77.
Animal Forms.
Ram standing to left, with head turned back: round upper edge from right, with
letters outwards, the legend E IC E O C
Oval. 13 x 11
Fair.
(1)
mam.
Hawk-headed crocodile (Soknopaios ?), crowned with disk (?), to right, head turned
back: behind head, crescent: legs twisted underneath: below, two lines
).
(perhaps
Oval. 16 x 13 mm.
(7)
Rough.
Winged griffin seated to right on haunches.
Oval. 15 x 14 mm.
(4),
Rough.
Winged griffin, seated to right on haunches : right fore-paw on wheel.
Oval. 16 x 15 mm.
Moderate.
(1)
Winged griffin, couched to right.
Oval. 10x7 mm.
Fair.
(10)
Griffin seated to right on haunches.
Poor.
Oval. 12x9 mm.
(1)
Lion-headed sphinx couched to right : below, scarab with wings spread.
Fair.
Oval. 13 x 10 mm.
(3)
Lion-headed sphinx couched to right: below, scarab with wings spread: behind
head, crescent (?).
Moderate.
Oval. 14 x 11 mm.
(7)
to
couched
Human-headed sphinx
right, with Egyptian headdress: tail turned over
back, with threefold end : in right paw, ankh (?) upright.
Moderate.
Oval. 16 x 13 mm.
(1)
Uraeus serpent erect to right, crescent on head: a key (?) horizontally across field:
at edge, below, on right, 0-, above, on left, q (i.e. FOP reversed).
Fair.
Circular. 33 mm.
(3)
Two uraei, erect, crowned with disks, facing one another.
Fair.
Oval. 15 x 12 mnm.
(3)
Two uraei erect, facing one another.
Oval. 14 x 12 mm.
Poor.
(2)
Two uraei as 74.
10 mm.
Poor.
Oval. 12 xlO
(1)
Two uraei as 74.
Poor.
Oval. 13x11 mm.
(2)
Two uraei as 74, but crowned with crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt respectively.
Coarse.
Oval. 12 x 10 mm.
(2)


78.
79.
80.
81.
Stamp divided into two compartments vertically : in left one, uraeus serpent erect to
right: in right, ]3q
dotwnwards: surrounded by line-border (? 'Opao-rok0ts).
Rough.
(42)
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)
Serpent with human head erect to right, crowned with plumes, confronted by hawk
standing to left.
Oval. 16 x 13 mm.
Rude.
(3)
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
82.
83.
84.
85.
86.
87.
88.
89.
90.
Scenes.
Figure of a man with right hand raised, in chariot drawn by two horses advancing to
left.
Circular. 12 mm.
Poor.
(1)
to
with
hand
raised, apparently on a bull with its tail in
Figure riding
right,
right
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)
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)
Three figures standing facing, in long robes.
Circular. 12 imm.
Moderate.
(2)
Three figures standing facing, in long robes: the centre one with both arms raised,
the outer ones with outer arm raised in each case.
Rude.
Circular. 13 mm.
(1)
Nike flying to right, in long chiton, holding out wreath over figure lying on ground.
Oval. 15 x 10 mm.
Fair.
(5)
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)
Lion springing to right on gazelle couched to right with head turned back.
Oval. 16 x 12 mm.
Fair.
(6)
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.
92.
Bust to right, with Egyptian royal headdress : in front, AflO

Oval. 15 x 1
Fair.
mrm.
Bust to right, with Egyptian royal headdress: beneath, crocodile to right.
Fair.
Oval. 14x 10 mrm.
93.
37

(1)
(1)
(1)
38
94.
95.
J. G. MILNE
Bust (male ?) to right.
Oval. 12 x 8 min.
Male bust to right.
Oval. 15 x 11 imm.
F.-NaI-es
96. Name in two lines

Rectangular.
[Worn.]
(5)
[Worn.]
(1).
and Linear Devices.
O
uIA1M
('Oyvvygp(t)
10 x 6 mm.
(5)
O N/
97.
Part of stamp in two lines : apparently TBO

TBI
Oval. 15 x 10 nm.
98.
Fragment of stamp with name
99.
Circular (?)
Key shown horizontally, handle to right : above, MI A A 3, below, W
.)T A q83
(2)
Linear device.
Rectangular.
(3)
100.
(1)
\ API<
11 x 5 mm.
(1)
Ten stamps too much damaged for identification.
The main importance of this group of sealings lies in the evidence given,
by them as to the kind of devices favoured for signet-rings among members:
of the merchant class in Egypt: incidentally, some light is thereby thrown,
on the popularity of various deities in the same society. Whether the rings
were specially made to order-as must have been the case where they were
engraved with the owner's name-or selected by purchasers from a stock
kept ready by the dealer, it may reasonably be assumed that, as a rule, a
man's religious partialities would influence his choice of a signet, and that
engravers, when preparing a supply of goods, would have a special regard to,
the ideas and beliefs most generally current among their customers. It will
be observed that types connected with Egyptian or Greek religion and
mythology form the great majority in the foregoing catalogue.
Fortunately, it is possible to compare with this collection a list of signets
from another district. In the first half of the second century A.D. it was:
customary at Oxyrhynchus for the witnesses to a will to specify their
and nine of the published Oxyrhynchus papyri (Nos. 105,
o'/payZl&s;
489-492, 494, 634, 646, 649) thus give particulars of thirty-five examples.
The following is the list of the devices:
Sarapis (6 examples): Isis (2): Harpokrates (3): Harpokrates standing:
Harpokrates on a lotus: Ammon: Helios Ammon: Zeus: Zeus on an eagle:
Athene (3): Apollo: Hermes (3): Herakles (2): Dionysus: Silenus: Tyche
with a rudder: Thonis: Enkanopos: SpaEcovor6opor (probably a serpent.
with human head): a philosopher (2): ALovvo-owrkrCov.

39
This list shows much the same kind of types as the Fayum sealings,
and the owners of the Oxyrhynchus signets were doubtless of the same
social rank as the merchants who sealed the jars and boxes for the Fayum
trade: at any rate, it is clear from the contents of the wills that the testators
were ' middle class' people, living in the town and possessed of some small
property; and they would presumably find the witnesses to their signatures
among members of their own class.
These Oxyrhynchus signets are also not far removed in date from the
Fayum sealings. The latter appear to be of the middle of the second
century A.D.: the scanty epigraphic evidence given by the names or legends
engraved on the seals points generally to this period; and a closer determination can be obtained from the types. These show, as will be more fully
stated later, a general relation to the reverse-types of the Alexandrian coins:
and in two instances--Nos. 13 and 14-the resemblance is so close that the
devices on the signets must either have been borrowed from the coins or
derived from the same source. The coins in question (Dattari Numi Alexandrini 2863 = British Museum Catalogue (Alexandria) 1108, and Dattari
3530) are both large bronze pieces of Antoninus Pius; and, like many of
this series and reign, have for their reverse-types somewhat elaborate groups
of a kind almost unknown in earlier and later periods of the Alexandrian
mint. It is not practicable here to discuss at length the general question of
the derivation of such types; but there is much reason to suppose that the
die-engravers to the mint in this reign did not as a rule take their types
directly from any existing works of art, but designed them freely and with
some originality. If this is granted, the signet-devices must have been
borrowed from the coins, and were probably engraved very shortly after the
issue of the latter, as the Alexandrian bronze coinage of the second century
wore badly and soon became defaced: their date may therefore be taken as
about the end of the reign of Antoninus Pius.
The types have been roughly classified in the catalogue; but it is worth
while to examine some of them in more detail. There is a distinct preponderance of Egyptian and Graeco-Egyptian religious subjects (classes A
and C) among them; and the largest part of these is supplied by representations of the Alexandrian triad-Sarapis, Isis, and Harpokrates or Horus. It
may be observed that, while Sarapis and Harpokrates are frequently represented alone, Isis only appears either by the side of Sarapis or nursing Harpokrates. This circumstance may be illustrated by the relative frequency and
nature of references to these deities in papyri, and by other extant representations. Sarapis was, practically, the official supreme deity: if the writer of a
letter expressed a wish for the health of a friend, this almost invariably took
the form of a prayer to Sarapis. His temple at Alexandria was the chief one
of the town, the neocorate of which was a sufficient honour to be accepted by
Roman officials; and most provincial towns seem to have had similar Sarapieia which, if Oxyrhynchus is a typical example, served as centres of the
social life of the towns in which they stood. But, while temple statues
of Sarapis must have been common, and a comparatively large number of

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 GraecoRoman 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

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 assignable to special localities-the Harpokrates on the lotus (41) is taken to represent

J. G. MILNE
42
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 GraecoEgyptian 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 Hermanubis 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 probably assignable 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 numbers 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 representations 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.

LAY-SEALINGS FROM THE FAYUM.
43
The class of animal-forms does not provide much of interest. The hawkheaded 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 commonness of serpent-types-though both the human-headed serpent, the 8pa/ovrr6/op'bov of Oxyrhynchus, and the uraeus with disk or royal crown are 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

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 explanation. 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 Alexandrian 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 condition 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 appeared 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 headdress 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-Sarapis, 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

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 endeavour 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.


Clay-Sealings From The Fayum

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