| Category | Sub-category | Detail | Identity; Possible Symbolism; Definition | |
| CENTAUR | carrying off woman | Centaur Nessus & Deianeira, wife of Heracles/Hercules | ||
| CENTURION | Bearded male, especailly in a jugate composition with a woman behind | a hero of the Trojan War, exact identity not always clear | ||
| Beardless male, short curls showing, especially if spear showing | Mars/Ares | |||
| Long hair straying out from ornate helmet |
Athena/Minerva, may also be wearing jewelry or have braids tied under chin | |||
| CHAIR | a throne, generally only royalty sit raised from ground | |||
| CHARIOT | 2 horses |
a biga; most often driven by Nike or Mars/Ares; less often, Aurora/Eos see also Days of the Week |
||
| 3 horses | a triga, not characteristic of any particular figure, but sometimes seen on an ambitious Nike or lazy Apollo |
|||
| 4 horses | a quadriga; most often driven by Apollo, except when scene is clearly terrestrial with mortal, anonymous charioteer see also Days of the Week |
|||
| drawn by 2 women | 1 standing passenger: Luna/Diana being drawn by nymphs or Hours see also Days of the Week; 2 seated passengers, Cupid on shaft: Aurora & Cephalus (Tithonus?) |
|||
| drawn by cocks | Mercury/Hermes see also Days of the Week |
|||
| drawn by doves | Venus see also Days of the Week |
|||
| drawn by eagles | Zeus/Jove see also Days of the Week |
|||
| drawn by lions | 2 lions: Cybele's chariot, sometimes driven by other figures; 4 lions: Aequitas | |||
| drawn by winged serpents | Saturn see also Days of the Week |
|||
| drawn in water | woman: Amphitrite, Venus, Galatea; sometimes Cupid | |||
| scallop shell | Venus, sometimes Cupid | |||
| CLOUDS | usually stylized swirls around bottom of figure or scene, indicating the location is Mt. Olympus; in Christian scenes: heaven | |||
| COLUMN(S) | Short | see plinth | ||
| Framing scene | setting is a palace | |||
| CONQUISTADOR | see CENTURION | |||
| CORNUCOPIA | horn of plenty | Tyche/Fortuna; can be confused with a torch | ||
| CREATURES | Mythical | dog, 2 heads | Orthrus or Orthus (also Orthros, Orthos) dog of tiple bodied giant Geryon, slain by Hercules | |
| dog, 3 headed | Cerberus, guardian of the gates of Hades | |||
| dragon, winged serpent | St. George; Perseus; draft animal of Saturn's chariot; sometimes on helmet of Minerva/Athena | |||
| eagle + lion | gryphon, griffin, griffon |
|||
| goat + fish | Capricornus, Aigipan | |||
| horse + fish | hippocampus (horse + sea monster), pl. hippocampoi | |||
| horse, winged | Pegasus | |||
| lion+ goat + snake | Chimaera | |||
| man + bull head | Minotuar, bull of Minos | |||
| man + fish | Triton, triton | |||
| man + goat | Pan, faun, satyr, silenus | |||
| man + horse | centaur | |||
| man + horse + fish | ichthyocentaur | |||
| woman + bird | harpy; siren | |||
| woman + lion | Sphinx, pl., sphingai |
|||
| CROSS/CRUCIFIX | a number of saints have a cross or crucifix as one of their symbols, including Mary Magdalen & St. Thérèse de Lisieux | |||
| CROWN | generally, royalty, a ruler among gods or mortals | |||
| DANCING | 3 women | Three Graces; individual figures may be bacchantes or simply dancers, usually indicated by being on tiptoe | ||
| women holding hands | Hours surrounding the Chariot of the Sun; Wedgwood "Dancing Hours" | |||
| DIADEM | worn by female divinities & semi-divinities, lower than the polos, plain edge; a stephane | |||
| DRINKING VESSELS | Stemmed | no handles | a kantharos: for drinking wine; often in scenes with Bacchus/Dionysus or his revels; generally indicates the enjoyment/celebration of wine | |
| FAIRY(IES) | winged, floating in air | Cupid; Psyche; Aurora/Eos; nymph; fairies only appear on some quite modern cameos | ||
| FEATHER | check Ceres to see if it's really wheat | pretty lady, long hair up: consider art nouveau; in headband of woman with short hair: 1920s flapper | ||
| FEATHER PEN | see quill pen | |||
| FIRE | Brazier/tripod | element in scenes of ritual, sacrifice or prophecy | ||
| Hearth | Goddess Vesta/Hestia | |||
| Torch | carried by Cupid: for inflaming the passions; carried by Genius of Light or eagle in company of Day or Aurora/Eos: daylight, daybreak, dawn | |||
| FLOWERS | Corsage on shoulder, head | anonymous beauty; a style popular in the 1930s | ||
| Lily | associated with Gabriel, Angel of the Annunciation | |||
| Mixed | carried or strewn | Aurora/Eos or Spring | ||
| worn in hair |
trailing down: goddess Flora; if also mixed with stalks of wheat: Ceres |
|||
| Roses | may be added to almost any female figure; particularly associated with Mary & St. Therèse de Lisieux; Apollo also sometimes wreathed with roses | |||
| GLADIATOR | see centurion | |||
| GLOBE | woman with laurel wreath: Muse Urania | |||
| HALO | a circle of light just above the head indicating a saint, including archangels; not the same as the lines radiating from Apollo or other bringers of light | |||
| HAND(S) | 1 holding flower(s) or 2 clasped | friendship | ||
| HELMET | helmets are worn by the gods Athena/Minerva/Roma & Mars/Ares; Trojan War heroes | |||
| HORNS | Goat's | Pan; faun | ||
| Ram's, curled | Alexander the Great; Ammon Zeus |
|||
| JAR | 2-handled | an amphora: for holding liquids, especially wine | ||
| Large, handled | a container for wine, seen in revel or offering scenes | |||
| Small, lidded | sometimes seen with Psyche; the container for the dab of Proserpina's beauty/perfume she must bring to Venus | |||
| Water | woman holding or offering to man: Rebecca at the Well |
|||
| KNEELING | Girl/Woman | with bird | Hebe | |
| KNIGHT | Bust | bearded | a hero | |
| no beard | Athena/Minerva, will usually have other indications figure is female, such as jewelry or very long hair; monster on helmet: Perseus | |||
| On horse | dragon | St. George; an Amazon |