The Art and Science of Healing: From Antiquity to the Renaissance

In this magical gemstone, we see the representation of a jackal-headed Anubis holding the so-called situla in his right hand, which is a handled vessel employed in religious ritual, and a scepter. The Greek inscription, Tyche, which means “good luck,” defines this amulet as having a very generic use, including medical purposes. The text is engraved in reverse because this gemstone might have been used as a personal seal applied on wax or molten lead so that the text could be read in the proper direction.