Basilidian book
Basilidian book
Basilidian book, unknown provenance, 4th-5th century AD
The small lead book was for magical and religious use and is formed of seven pages with a cover on whose faces are a male and a female portrait.
On the pages, incised on both sides, objects, animals and human figures, are depicted, followed by a line and five rows of greek characters with the value of magic symbols, charakteres.
The term ‘Basilidian’ refers to basilides, the founder of a philosophical school at Alexandria in the second century AD.
Museo nazionale delle Terme, Roma