Fish Gem
Unknown Artist
c. 250–350 CE
Medium
rock crystal
Dimensions
3.5 × 7.5 cm
Classification
Glyptic
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1954.592
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
To avoid punishment, early Christians practiced their faith in secret. Images of fish were part of a code developed to refer to Jesus Christ. To those in the know, the Greek word for fish (ICHTHYS), was an acronym for the phrase Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter which translates as Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.