A gemstone found in 1999 in the imperial sarcophagus of Frederick II, in the Cathedral of Palermo, was part of an exhibit organized at the Italian Cultural Institute of New York. We present and discuss in the available detail the context of the discovery of the same stone, in the frame of the “Minimal Opening Project” led by the Archiepiscopal Curia of Palermo and the Department of Cultural and Environmental Heritage and Public Education of Sicily. We discuss the methods and the result of the micro-excavation of a small portion of deposit containing the semiprecious stone, discuss – as far as possible – the analytical data then collected, and propose an identification of the gem and its possible magic implications.
The Emperor's Gem. Methodology, Recovery, Micro-Excavation and Possible Magic Implications
Massimo Vidale
2023
Abstract
A gemstone found in 1999 in the imperial sarcophagus of Frederick II, in the Cathedral of Palermo, was part of an exhibit organized at the Italian Cultural Institute of New York. We present and discuss in the available detail the context of the discovery of the same stone, in the frame of the “Minimal Opening Project” led by the Archiepiscopal Curia of Palermo and the Department of Cultural and Environmental Heritage and Public Education of Sicily. We discuss the methods and the result of the micro-excavation of a small portion of deposit containing the semiprecious stone, discuss – as far as possible – the analytical data then collected, and propose an identification of the gem and its possible magic implications.Pubblicazioni consigliate
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