Gem depicting Pan

Pan, a god associated with shepherds and their flocks, energetically dances on this carnelian intaglio that was likely once set into a ring. He holds a shepherd’s hook and a bunch of grapes and thrusts his left leg upward through the air. He wears a nebris, or protective garment associated with the cult of Bacchus, the god of wine. Taken together, his grapes, nebris, and dancing generally reference Bacchic myth and cult practice. There are two small inscriptions on the gem. One below the deity’s leg, a T-shaped form, and another on the opposite side of his body, “NA.” Although the precise meaning of these inscriptions is unclear, based on similar examples, they may be an artisan’s signature, a wearer’s initials, or a coded reference to the Bacchic cult.