Serpentarium Mundi by Alexei Alexeev The Ancient Ophidian Iconography Resource (Mundus Vetus, 3000 BC - 650 AD)
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Figure 006 of 012 ABRASAX [ΙΑΩ]: GALLERY | LIBRARY | REGISTRY Figure 008 of 012
Figure III-2-abr-007. Alectorocephalic (rooster/cock-headed) and ophiopode (serpent-legged) Abrasax (Abraxas), wearing a short military tunic, holding a whip (?) in his raised right hand, and carrying a small round shield on his extended left arm; ΙΑΩ legend. | Opposite side (reverse): ABPA·CAΞ legend; star within crescent symbol.

● Artefact
Object Category: Tessera
View: Obverse
Medium: Lead
Denomination: N/A
Size/Diameter: 18 mm
Weight: 3.2 gm
● Context
Creator: Unknown
Mint: Unknown
Region: Egypt?
Authority/Issuer: Unknown
Sitter(s): N/A
Period: Middle/Late Roman Imperial
Date: 200-400 AD
Provenience: Unknown
● Collection
Ownership: Private
Location: Unknown
Inventory №: N/A
 
● Iconographic Type: Hexagenic™ Nomenclature Summary
Type: III.2a.abr.1.unk·unk.0
Ontolocators
(Prefix):
volume: III. coins
chapter (part): 2. fantastic creatures (a. herpetomorphs)
Integrals
(Stem):
subject: abr. Abrasax [ΙΑΩ]
feature: 1. holding whip? and shield
Differentials
(Suffix):
idiosyncrasy: unk. unknown mint (unk. unknown authority/issuer)
variation: 0. Ø
● Iconographic Type: Formal Semantic Indicators™
Identifiers
(Beings):
deity: Ø
hero: Ø
mortal: Ø
notable: Ø
anonym: Ø
animal: Ø
creature.1: Abrasax [ΙΑΩ]
object.1: tunic
object.2: whip?
object.3: shield
symbol: Ø
pair: Ø
duplet: Ø
group: Ø
set: Ø
cluster: Ø
artwork: Ø
label.1: ΙΑΩ [legend]
Descriptors
(Properties):
epithet: Ø
syncretism: Ø
prosopon: Ø
morphology.1: "creature.1" [Abrasax [ΙΑΩ]] (general: composite; anthropoalectoroherpeto-morphic; alectorocephalic; ophiopodeᴿᴰ) (head: avian [rooster's/cock's]) (upper·body: human; male; muscular;
torso with two arms and two hands) (lower·body: ophidian down from genitofemoral area; with two serpent-protomes instead of legs)
morphology.2: "object.1" [tunic] (homogeneous?; military; short)
morphology.3: "object.2" [whip?] (composite?)
morphology.4: "object.3" [shield] (composite?; round; small)
aspect.1: "creature.1" [Abrasax [ΙΑΩ]] (general: upright; standing frontward-rightward; dressed) (head: upright; rightward) (upper·body: upright; frontward-rightward; right·arm bent, raised, with right·hand grasping; left·arm bent, extended rightward, with left·hand grasping?) (lower·body: upright; frontward; two serpent-protomes extended laterally, addorsed; right·serpent rearing leftward-upward, with head pointing leftward-upward and tongue protruding, pointing leftward-upward; left·serpent rearing rightward-upward, with head pointing rightward-upward and tongue protruding, pointing rightward-upward)
aspect.2: "object.1" [tunic] (body-wrapped; free-flowing; folding)
aspect.3: "object.2" [whip?] (suspended aloft; upward?; tilted?; pointing upward-rightward?)
aspect.4: "object.3" [shield] (suspended; vertical; backward)
vector.1: "main composition" (left-bottom →
right-top)
Operators
(Relations):
contact.1: "creature.1" [Abrasax [ΙΑΩ]] ⟨wearing ⟨on torso⟩⟩ "object.1" [tunic]
contact.2: "creature.1" [Abrasax [ΙΑΩ]] ⟨holding ⟨aloft in right·hand⟩⟩ "object.2" [whip?]
contact.3: "creature.1" [Abrasax [ΙΑΩ]] ⟨carrying ⟨on left·arm⟩⟩ "object.3" [shield]
conflict: Ø
context: Ø
contiguity: Ø
inversion.1: reverse: ABPA·CAΞ [legend]; star and crescent [symbol]
● Iconographic Type: Prominence
Occurrences
(Registered Instances):
very rare 1-6 specimens
sparse 7-18 specimens
common 19-60 specimens
abundant 60+ specimens
● Iconographic Type: Selected Universal Subject References
ICONCLASS
(Codes and Descriptions):
12U(...)19 miscellaneous religions, cults and doctrines (with NAME) - demons
12U(...)84 miscellaneous religions, cults and doctrines (with NAME) - mystery cults

Source-Image(s): Ancient Coins Search (www.acsearch.info; © Courtesy of the ACSearch.info and the original holders): Leu Numismatik, Auction 3, 27 October 2018, Lot 194. The full list of numismatic and exonumic images' sources is available on the Coins introductory page. The detailed descriptions of artefacts (provenience, dates, etc.) are generally taken verbatim from the providers of the original source-images. Figure is prepared by Alexei Alexeev.

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