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Cameo with Aurora driving a chariot
Roman
Imperial Period
late 1st century B.C.–early 1st century A.D.
Medium/Technique
Sardonyx
Dimensions
Overall (cameo): 5.5 x 8.4 cm (2 3/16 x 3 5/16 in.)
Overall: 0.9 x 6.1 x 8.9 cm (3/8 x 2 3/8 x 3 1/2 in.)
Overall: 0.9 x 6.1 x 8.9 cm (3/8 x 2 3/8 x 3 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Henry Lillie Pierce Fund
Accession Number98.756
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Bracelets and armlets
DescriptionDark-brown on blue-white on brown layered sardonyx cameo, in modern gold setting. A winged Aurora drives a two-horse chariot (biga) to the right while Cupid flies towards her holding a wreath. Her right breast is exposed; she grasps the reins with both hands. At the bottom right, wavy lines indicate the ground or perhaps the sea. The cameo is broken into two pieces, which are held together by the modern setting. On the back of this setting is a graffito “1496,” which may refer to when the cameo was mounted in its current gold setting.
ProvenanceProbably Cardinal Francesco Boncompagni (b. 1596 - d. 1641), Rome [see note 1]; by descent to Prince of Piombino, Gregorio Boncompagni Ludovisi (b. 1642 – d. 1707), Rome [note 2]. By 1892, Michal Tyszkiewicz (b. 1828 - d. 1897), Rome [note 3]; June 8 - 10, 1898, posthumous Tyszkiewicz sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, lot 275. 1898, Edward Perry Warren (b. 1860 - d. 1928), Rome and London; 1898, sold by Warren to the MFA for $69,618 [note 4]. (Accession Date: September 20, 1898)
Notes:
[1]Most of the Boncompagni Ludovisi collection of gems was formed by Cardinal Francesco Boncompagni in the 17th century. However it is possible that his heir, Girolamo Boncompagni (b. 1622 - d. 1684), added to the collection. Upon his death in 1684, Girolamo willed his collection to the Ospedali della Vita e della Morte in Bologna. The family heir, Gregorio Boncompagni, disputed the will and eventually got the gem collection back (see https://villaludovisi.org/2013/05/22/new-from-1706-an-inventory-and-cash-assessment-of-coins-and-medals-in-the-museo-boncompagni-ludovisi-part-ii-of-ii/).
[2]The cameo is described in a 1706 inventory of the Boncompagni Ludovisi collection as a very large sardonyx, cracked through, in a gold mount showing “a winged Victory or Aurora in a chariot drawn by two horses and a small putto flying towards her with a wreath.” Several copies of this inventory exist in different archives, including in the private family archive of the Boncompagni Ludovisi. It was also copied in an unpublished 1949 treatise by archivist Giuseppe Felici titled "Vicende della collezione di gemme e medaglie dei Boncompagni Ludovisi."
[3]Wilhelm Froehner, La Collection Tyszkiewicz (Munich, 1892), p. 31, pl. XXXIII, 4.
[4]Total price for MFA accession nos. 98.641-98.940.
Notes:
[1]Most of the Boncompagni Ludovisi collection of gems was formed by Cardinal Francesco Boncompagni in the 17th century. However it is possible that his heir, Girolamo Boncompagni (b. 1622 - d. 1684), added to the collection. Upon his death in 1684, Girolamo willed his collection to the Ospedali della Vita e della Morte in Bologna. The family heir, Gregorio Boncompagni, disputed the will and eventually got the gem collection back (see https://villaludovisi.org/2013/05/22/new-from-1706-an-inventory-and-cash-assessment-of-coins-and-medals-in-the-museo-boncompagni-ludovisi-part-ii-of-ii/).
[2]The cameo is described in a 1706 inventory of the Boncompagni Ludovisi collection as a very large sardonyx, cracked through, in a gold mount showing “a winged Victory or Aurora in a chariot drawn by two horses and a small putto flying towards her with a wreath.” Several copies of this inventory exist in different archives, including in the private family archive of the Boncompagni Ludovisi. It was also copied in an unpublished 1949 treatise by archivist Giuseppe Felici titled "Vicende della collezione di gemme e medaglie dei Boncompagni Ludovisi."
[3]Wilhelm Froehner, La Collection Tyszkiewicz (Munich, 1892), p. 31, pl. XXXIII, 4.
[4]Total price for MFA accession nos. 98.641-98.940.