The Pentacles

Athens 115 · Seal 23

Writing occupies one half of the circle while broad open spaces and nested curves fill the other. [1]

Delatte 1927, printed historical edition; Athens MS 115 · Delatte I (1927), printed p. 20, row 4, column 2; phylactery passage p. 18, Athens MS 115, Book II, ff. 17–18.

Pentacle profile

Tradition and Group: Greek Solomonic tradition · Athens MS 115 [1]
Position within the Set: 23rd design in the catalogue; unnumbered in Delatte’s edition. [1]
Attributed Purpose: Part of the twenty-four-seal phylactery carried at the chest in preparation for the art of the circle. [1]
Design: Four short lines of writing fill the left half; curved bands and a horizontal divider occupy the right. [1]

Four short lines of writing fill the left half; curved bands and a horizontal divider occupy the right. — **Source reproduction** Writing beside curved bands. Delatte, 1927, p. 20.

Writing beside curved bands

A vertical line divides the circle almost in half. Four short groups of letter-like signs descend along its left side. On the right, a horizontal bar runs from the divider to the rim, leaving upper and lower spaces. [1]

Nested curves fill the upper-right and lower-right corners beside the central upright. Most of the right half remains open, while the writing is concentrated on the left. [1]

The chest-worn phylactery

The Greek preparation passage sets names above the complete twenty-four-seal series on the phylactery. Delatte prints this drawing at the centre of the bottom row on page 20. Its interior signs are reproduced in the plate without a separate explanation beside the drawing. [1]

Sources and editions

A. Delatte, Anecdota Atheniensia I
Delatte 1927, printed historical edition; Athens MS 115. Manuscript B (Athens MS 115): introductory description, printed pp. 1–2; Book II, phylactery passage p. 18, lines 19–27 (ff. 17–18); twenty-four seals pp. 19–20; this drawing p. 20, row 4, column 2. Facsimile PDF pp. 14–15 and 31–33.
The drawing appears in Delatte’s 1927 edition of Athens MS 115.