The Gryllus: From Ancient Lore to Modern Talisman

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Reimagining the Gryllus:
From Ancient Lore to Modern Talisman

Introducing The Gryllus Amulet, the newest addition to our Modern Treasures collection, an ongoing series dedicated to jewelry that feels both unearthed and unmistakably current. This piece began as a large antique carnelian bead, rediscovered by our good friends at Under the Crown, a fourth-generation family of antique jewelers and stone cutters whose reverence for historical objects is matched by their talent for innovative transformation. They envisioned the bead as a canvas for masterful hand carving, and from that vision emerged a trio of mythic hybrid creatures; each rendered in a style that draws from antiquity yet carries an unexpected relevance today.

The Gryllus, has a long and strange lineage. In ancient Roman jewelry, they appeared on engraved gems worn as talismans, often featuring combinations of human heads, animals, and insects. Meant to confound evil and amuse the wearer, these composite beings carried symbolic potency: wisdom, swiftness, cleverness, vigor, foresight. Centuries later, in medieval times, the Gryllus reemerged in manuscripts and marginalia, reflecting new cultural anxieties. Following the decline of the plague and leprosy, social fears shifted from physical decay to the unpredictability of human behavior. The liminal zone between man and beast, sacred and absurd, became fertile ground for imagination and superstition.

The Gryllus Amulet, from Modern Treasures 2025

The three faces of this piece feature distinct Grylli hand carved in high detail, each a fantastical union of species and symbolic cues. There is reverence here, but also a wink. These creatures defy taxonomy, echoing anxieties and humor in equal measure. This play between the devotional and the distorted was a way of processing chaos; humans reckoning with the world by inventing their own methods of meaning.

From left to right: illustration from The Book of Hours 1400-1410, Roman Carnelian Intaglio 2nd -3rd centuries BC from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, detail from The Luttrell Psalter 1325-1340, illustration by Johan Ulrich Stapf 1675-95.

Built for everyday wear, designed for small rituals

With this piece, we wanted to conjure that same spirit. Rooted in history but not bound to it, the Grylli reflect the enduring impulse to give shape to uncertainty, sometimes reverent, sometimes playful, often both. The tensions they once embodied aren’t so distant from our own: the friction of shared existence, the thin seam between order and unraveling. In that way, nothing is ever entirely new, yet our humanity persists. We’re still compelled to make meaning in the world around us. We've designed the pendant to be worn long, inviting touch during moments of worry or stillness. The setting is deliberate; solid 18k gold, with delicately placed natural diamonds...understated and intentional.

One of a Kind Gryllus Amulet

Hand carved carnelian, solid 18k gold, natural round brilliant and briolette cut diamonds.

The Modern Treasures collection is a kind of collaboration with the past, so it feels right to include a piece like this that reflects an ongoing conversation, not just with other makers, but with time itself. The Gryllus Amulet carries that idea forward: shaped across generations, yet in step with our present-day perspective. It feels like a natural fit and just the beginning. We’ve recently acquired a small assortment of ancient Roman intaglios, each holding its own quiet mystery, personal history, and symbolic weight. Much like the Grylli, these intaglios invite interpretation, bearing the weight of the past, but not fixed in it. We’re thinking carefully about how they might evolve into pieces that carry their stories forward, rather than sealing them in place. Stay tuned...

While we're exploring new ideas and forms, our design ethos remains unchanged: creating jewelry that is original and genuinely wearable. This piece isn't meant to languish in a jewelry box, it has been crafted to be a part of life. The kind of piece you reach for without thinking; designed to move fluidly through every day without ever feeling ordinary.