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Cameo with head of Medusa
Roman
Imperial Period
2nd–3rd century A.D.
Medium/Technique
Onyx
Dimensions
Overall: 5.5 x 6.4 x 1.3 cm (2 1/8 x 2 1/2 x 1/2 in.)
Overall (gem, as preserved): 4.2 x 4.3 cm (1 5/8 x 1 11/16 in.)
Overall (gem, as preserved): 4.2 x 4.3 cm (1 5/8 x 1 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Henry Lillie Pierce Fund
Accession Number98.758
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Cameos
DescriptionWhite on gray layered onyx. Cameo, in modern gold setting. The face of the gorgon Medusa looks out in fully-frontal view. Her hair is arranged in wavy locks flowing around her head, atop which are two wings. Next to one of these wings is a snake; its tail is intertwined with a second snake tail just below Medusa’s chin. This gem is representative of the change in Medusa’s appearance over time; some of her depictions from the Hellenistic period onwards are called the “beautiful Medusa” type to distinguish them from her grotesque early images. There is brown encrustation in the carving of the hair.
ProvenanceBy 1897, Michal Tyszkiewicz (b. 1828 - d. 1897), Rome; June 8 - 10, 1898, posthumous Tyszkiewicz sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, lot 277 (said to have been found on the Via Appia near Rome); 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.