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Oval gem with bust of a Flavian woman, perhaps Julia Titi
Roman
Flavian Period
last quarter of 1st century A.D.
Medium/Technique
Amethyst
Dimensions
Length: 14 x 10.41 mm (9/16 x 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
Theodora Wilbour Fund in memory of Zoë Wilbour
Accession Number63.1521
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Gems
DescriptionAmethyst. Intaglio. Convex front face and flat back face with inward back bezel. The bust of a woman faces left in profile. Her coiffure is very elaborate. Strands of hair are combed back into coils that form a large bun at the back of her head, and at the top of her head, she wears the distinctive high mound of curls that identifies her as a woman of the Flavian era. Her facial features are small and unremarkable. Her shoulders are draped. The woman is perhaps Julia Titi, daughter of the emperor Titus, based on resemblances to other identified gem portraits of her.
ProvenanceBy date unknown: with Euripides Sepheriades; purchased by MFA from Euripides Sepheriades, October 17, 1963