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Source Description
Onyx is often chosen for cameos because it frequently contains a straight, well-defined vein of white. The subject can be carved from the white vein, and the dark part is then removed from the visual field to create the image. Lions were common subjects for antique cameos. This beautifully carved piece could have been offered for sale as an antique or as a piece in which the art and techniques of antiquity were reflected. Few 17th-century collectors could have told the difference.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
26563
label
Cameo with a Lion
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
26563
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Cameo with a Lion
description
Onyx is often chosen for cameos because it frequently contains a straight, well-defined vein of white. The subject can be carved from the white vein, and the dark part is then removed from the visual field to create the image. Lions were common subjects for antique cameos. This beautifully carved piece could have been offered for sale as an antique or as a piece in which the art and techniques of antiquity were reflected. Few 17th-century collectors could have told the difference.
provenance
Collections of Charles Newton-Robinson Sale, Christie's, June 27, 1909, no. 95; Morrison, cat. no. 11; Dikran Kelekian, Paris and New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1909, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
ca. 1500-1625 (Renaissance)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Precious Stones & Gems
pendants
cameos
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensionsRaw
15/16 in. (2.4 cm)
Source extras
med
onyx, gold
creator_ids
6985
collection_ids
REN
exhibition_ids
2054
2513
2704
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
92780fe7df2585ab
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
50e828b431b44825
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no