Cameo

Unknown

18th–19th century

Unidentified layered gemstone

J. Paul Getty Museum

A carved cameo depicts a profile portrait of a man wearing a laurel wreath. The carving is set against a smooth, oval background. The man depicted on this cameo wears a laurel wreath in his hair. Long ribbons, tying the wreath at the back of his head, fall down his neck and over his shoulders. Presumably, this was intended to be the portrait of a Roman emperor, but the features are not specific enough to indicate who it was meant to be. The face bears some resemblance to both Augustus and to his stepson and successor Tiberius. Several clues suggest the post-antique origin of this gem: the large size of the laurel leaves and the prominence of their central veins, the thick noodle-like ribbon ties of the wreath, the exaggerated contrast between the flat hair loc