Lot 331 A LARGE CAMEO OF MEDUSA OF EXTRAORDINARY SIZE AND PROPORTIONS, 1ST-2ND CENTURY AD
A large cameo in agate of the head of Medusa, shown three quarters towards the left. This exceptional cameo is part of a series that is commonly found throughout the Roman Empire and represents the amulet power of Medusa to ward off evil. The subject is shown with wings on her upper head and two coiled serpents under her chin.
The high relief is all the more unusual as to find a stone which has such a large volume of lighter colored material is rare indeed. The stone is concave at the back and is highly polished which befits such an object. The size itself begs the question as to what purpose it might have been used for. While there exist a class of large cameos which are termed 'Phalera', these are drilled through the body and must have served as suspended decorations for apparel. Here the object might have been inlaid into something larger such as a statue or some similar larger object. Sardonyx agate. Roman 1st-2nd century AD.
In any case such a unique object must have been made for a client of the highest status and means and deserves a place among the finest cameos to have come down to us from antiquity.
60 by 60 by 35 mm.
Weight: 146.3 gr.
PROVENANCE
From a European collection formed in the 1980's.