Any help would be greatly appreciated. I found this brooch yesterday, and I have been researching it for hours. The male figure is Hermes/Mercury, but I don't know who the female figure would be. I do not think it is Athena/Minerva, only because the figure here is completely nude. The figure is holding a pole axe (figured that out from my research.) The only guess I can venture is that the female figure is Iris, the female messenger of the gods, but why the pole axe, and seems to be a helmet?
I also have not seen this particular carving anywhere online (yet.) Any ideas where this could have a basis in origin?
Could this be Venetian glass? Also, the intaglia is carved from the top, not underneath, is it still an intaglio? The back is faceted. It is set in a base goldtone metal, no markings.
Thank you for your thought on this and any help you can provide.
Don't think it's Athena. AFAIK she's never shown nude (myth emphasizes her virginity) or with loose hair, and the double axe isn't associated with her. The double axe points to Crete - it was a symbol of the Cretan mother goddess, and a woman shown holding one would likely be a priestess - so Apemosyne?
