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Cameo with head of Bes
Roman
Imperial Period
1st–3rd century A.D.
Medium/Technique
Sardonyx
Dimensions
Overall: 1.9 x 1.9 cm (3/4 x 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Henry Lillie Pierce Fund
Accession Number98.752
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Cameos
DescriptionBrown on white on brown layered sardonyx. Cameo. Frontal head of Bes. Bes is an Egyptian god associated with dance, health, fertility, and magic. He is bearded and wears a headdress with plumes. The protruding tongue is a feature particularly characteristic of Hellenistic and Roman depictions of Bes. There are chips along the top edge of the cameo.
ProvenanceBy 1897, Michal Tyszkiewicz (b. 1828 - d. 1897), Rome; June 8 - 10, 1898, posthumous Tyszkiewicz sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, lot 271 (said to have been found in the Fayum); 1898, Edward Perry Warren (b. 1860 - d. 1928), Rome and London; 1898, sold by Warren to the MFA for $69,618.13 [see note]. (Accession Date: September 20, 1898)
Note: This is the total price for MFA accession nos. 98.641-98.940.
Note: This is the total price for MFA accession nos. 98.641-98.940.