Antique Obsidian Amulet??

[DavidAnthony]

Hello, this my first post and hopefully not my last. This small Obsidian artifact is 7cm high x 4cm wide x 2cm deep. It belonged to my grandfather who acquired it in the 1940"s. Still yet to find it's exact purpose - be it for religious or personal keepsake. Would love to know more..

 

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[DCMatt]

Here it is:

CÆDMON CROSS AT WHITBY ABBEY​

 

[DCMatt]

Not obsidian. More likely Whitby Jet.

JET (Fr. jais, Ger. Gagat), a substance which seems to be a peculiar kind of lignite or anthracite; often cut and polished for ornaments. The word “jet” probably comes, through O. Fr. jaiet, from the classical gagates, a word which was derived, according to Pliny, from Gagas, in Lycia, where jet, or a similar substance, was originally found. Jet was used in Britain in prehistoric times; many round barrows of the Bronze age have yielded jet beads, buttons, rings, armlets and other ornaments. The abundance of jet in Britain is alluded to by Caius Julius Solinus (fl. 3rd century) and jet ornaments are found with Roman relics in Britain. Probably the supply was obtained from the coast of Yorkshire, especially near Whitby, where nodules of jet were formerly picked up on the shore. Caedmon refers to this jet, and at a later date it was used for rosary beads by the monks of Whitby Abbey.

 

[nhbenz]

I'm seeing the pictures as something different, more along the lines of a story from top to bottom:
Top: little girl, too small to help out with the scythe she's carrying, so turned away from the fields
Middle: becoming a young lady, taller and helpful now with the scythe, walking toward fields.
Bottom: becoming a woman, carrying a child in her arms (or firewood?), hmm.
but I can't find any folk story or such with these sort of depictions, so I dunno.

 

[DCMatt]

I'm seeing the pictures as something different, more along the lines of a story from top to bottom:
Top: little girl, too small to help out with the scythe she's carrying, so turned away from the fields
Middle: becoming a young lady, taller and helpful now with the scythe, walking toward fields.
Bottom: becoming a woman, carrying a child in her arms (or firewood?), hmm.
but I can't find any folk story or such with these sort of depictions, so I dunno.

The bottom frame (not shown in my pic above) is Caedmon playing the harp and singing his great hymn.

 

[BosnMate]

I was going to say it's not obsidian, but I had no idea about "Jet." Anyhow, that's all been said. Do you have any idea where your grandfather found this, or acquired it? Was he in the army in the 1940's? Are you located in the UK? Was your grandfather in Britain during WWII?

 

[DavidAnthony]

Not obsidian. More likely Whitby Jet.

Many thanks DCMatt! I've never heard of Whitby Jet, but it does seem correct.

 

[DavidAnthony]

Thanks for your input nhbenz! That does seem an apt interpretation of the imagery. Along with DCMatt's finding that it's Whitby Jet, could lead to better understanding the depictions and it's origins.

 

[DavidAnthony]

Hi BosnMate, my grandad was Dutch. He was a collector of edged weapons & firearms and often picked up little curios for his own curiosity. I know he began to collect in the 40's and my dad remembers that particular piece from his childhood. I'm based in Australia.

 

[DavidAnthony]

UPDATE - for your interest I came across a Victorian Whitby jet Caedmon Celtic 2-1/2" cross on 1-1/3" ammonite ("snake stone") stand. The depictions carry the same theme of a harvest.

 

[Backwoodsbob]

Could you post a picture of the back side please

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[DavidAnthony]

Could you post a picture of the back side please

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Hi Backwoodsbob, here's the verso;

 

[DCMatt]

UPDATE - for your interest I came across a Victorian Whitby jet Caedmon Celtic 2-1/2" cross on 1-1/3" ammonite ("snake stone") stand.View attachment 1253543 The depictions carry the same theme of a harvest.

So we can say this is solved?

Just for clarity, the theme is not harvest. The monks featured on the cross carry shepherds "crooks" or staffs not scythes. At Whitby Abbey they raised cattle and sheep.

DCMatt

 

[DavidAnthony]

Thanks for your input DCMatt - I think I have found the correct answer!

This is a Cross on top of an Obelisk. It is not a proper Cross Pate, and in this form could never be an authentic chivalric "Templar Cross". This squared version, which only hints at Templarism, is distinctly that of the fraternity of Freemasonry, which has a high level of membership named "Templar" (an adjective, never actually part of the name of the Order), in tribute to the Templar Order, but is not a chivalric Order and does not claim to be (i.e. no authority to actually grant Knighthood).

Inside the Masonic "Templar" Cross is a quadruple Fleurs-de-Lis, indicating French Freemasonry. (Note that the main streets and squares of Paris are filled with Obelisks placed there by Freemasons.)

The four figures (three of which are holding a Scythe), are probably not women in dresses as it might seem, but rather they may be men wearing Masonic Aprons, especially in the ancient form worn by Egyptian priests. In that case, the Scythe held by three of them is not associated with the "grim reaper", as we might assume, but instead symbolizes the "ages of time". The Aprons and Scythes as "time" are both very appropriate meanings, considering they are shown inside an ancient Egyptian Obelisk.

In this context, the fourth figure would be holding a loaf of bread as "fruits of harvest", an alternate double meaning of the Scythe, which is probably why they bothered to etch long grass at the feet of all four figures. The "harvest" has a Masonic association with the Biblical Old Testament shew-bread, which is the ancient sacrament of the Temple of Solomon.

It does not contain the requisite glyphic or numerological symbolism to be an Amulet (as in ceremonial magic), but rather it would serve as a Talisman (attracting desired energies by association with its pictorial symbolism).

I think I can close this case as Solved!

 

[DCMatt]

OK. Well then... So much for Occam's Razor...

 

[DavidAnthony]

Good point DCMatt! I entirely agree as both interpretations seem plausible, the one underlying point was that my grandad was a rosicrucion, so the freemason theory seemed weighted to that side.