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Source Description
This carved amethyst cameo depicts a woman wearing a laurel wreath and a <em>palla</em>, a cloak worn by Roman noblewomen. The palla is tucked behind the woman’s ears and is visible over her right shoulder. She may have been a member of the Julio-Claudian imperial family or a wealthy private individual. In her hairstyle, straight nose, and small but full mouth the woman closely resembles portrait cameos identified as Antonia Minor, niece of the emperor Augustus and mother of the emperor Claudius. Only elite Romans could use amethyst; true purple stones had to be imported to Rome at great expense.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
135566
label
Cameo: Head of a Woman
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
135566
contentType
object
title
Cameo: Head of a Woman
description
This carved amethyst cameo depicts a woman wearing a laurel wreath and a <em>palla</em>, a cloak worn by Roman noblewomen. The palla is tucked behind the woman’s ears and is visible over her right shoulder. She may have been a member of the Julio-Claudian imperial family or a wealthy private individual. In her hairstyle, straight nose, and small but full mouth the woman closely resembles portrait cameos identified as Antonia Minor, niece of the emperor Augustus and mother of the emperor Claudius. Only elite Romans could use amethyst; true purple stones had to be imported to Rome at great expense.
date
1–100 CE
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60758483
genreSpecific
Jewelry
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 4.6 cm (1 13/16 in.)
cul
Italy, Roman
accession
1958.92
Source extras
tec
amethyst
tombstone
Cameo: Head of a Woman, 1–100 CE. Italy, Roman. Amethyst; overall: 4.6 cm (1 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna Jr., 1958.92
collection
GR - Roman
didYouKnow
The metal setting is modern; this gem was likely originally a roundel.
citations
citation
Christie, Manson & Woods. <em>Greek, Roman and Etruscan Antiquities, and Antique and Renaissance Gems, the Property of Humphrey W. Cook, Esq. ... Sir Francis Cook, Bart., </em>July 14-15, 1925.
page_number
P. 16, no. 64.
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art, and William Mathewson Milliken. <em>In Memoriam: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.</em> Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH. 1958.
page_number
No. 216, plus illust.
citation
Vollenweider, Marie-Louise. <em>Die Steinschneidekunst und ihre Künstler in Spätrepublikanischer und Augusteischer Zeit</em>. Baden-Baden: Grimm, 1966.
page_number
Catalog plate 3. Ref. p. 12, 81. Described p. 91
citation
Cooney, John D. “Intaglios, Cameos, and Related Works.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 55, no. 4 (1968): 113–19.
page_number
Ill. figs. 3-4.
citation
Damon, Cynthia, ed. <em>Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974-)</em> 135, no. 2. (2005). The Johns Hopkins University Press.
page_number
Cover Image
citation
Del Bufalo, Dario. <em>Precious portraits: small precious stone sculptures of Imperial Rome.</em> Turin: Umberto Allemandi, 2020.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 154, no. 499
creditline
Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna Jr.
galleryDonorText
David and Inez Myers Foundation Gallery
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:55:46.548000
sourceId
135566
dept
Greek and Roman Art
coll
GR - Roman
med
amethyst
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
7a061ddcb0ad71a5