Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 4 pages
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
The Roman emperors were popular subjects for cameos (small relief carvings) in antiquity, and this cameo of Vespasian (AD 9-79) imitates that tradition. Cameos of the 16th and 17th centuries imitating Roman carving were often offered to collectors as Roman artifacts. Onyx was favored for cameos because its narrow veins of brown and white color can be carved to set off a white form against a brown background.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
9997
label
""Antique"" Cameo with Portrait of the Roman Emperor Vespasian
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
4
Source metadata
id
9997
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
""Antique"" Cameo with Portrait of the Roman Emperor Vespasian
description
The Roman emperors were popular subjects for cameos (small relief carvings) in antiquity, and this cameo of Vespasian (AD 9-79) imitates that tradition. Cameos of the 16th and 17th centuries imitating Roman carving were often offered to collectors as Roman artifacts. Onyx was favored for cameos because its narrow veins of brown and white color can be carved to set off a white form against a brown background.
provenance
C.T. Hawkins [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Charles Newton-Robinson Sale, London, June 22, 1909, no. 114; 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
1600-1650 (Baroque)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Precious Stones & Gems
gems
cameos
portraits
imageCount
4
pageCount
4
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
8.8
height
7.1
dimensionsRaw
H: 3 7/16 x W: 2 13/16 in. (8.8 x 7.1 cm)
Source extras
med
onyx, gilded copper alloy mount
creator_ids
33562
collection_ids
BAR
exhibition_ids
1994
3360
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
c81ce5c82e8c45a6
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
833f9e541de9f619
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
5a5d1feeda64f383
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
4
type
photo
mediaId
8a173a066e96f5fc
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no