Replica of the Euodos Intaglio of Julia Titi

Place of OriginLikely Italy or France

Date19th century

DimensionsH: 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm); W: 2 1/2 in. (6.4 cm)

MediumGlass; mold-impressed.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.1637

Not on View

DescriptionStriated opaque white and amber brown. Face coated opaque white, hair brown. Head of a woman with elaborate hair dress, seen in profile, turned to the right.

Label TextThis intaglio is a 19th-century replica of a famous ancient Roman gemstone attributed to the engraver Euodos, now in the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF inv. 58.2089). The original, carved in aquamarine around 90 CE, features a delicate portrait of Julia Titi, daughter of Emperor Titus, shown in profile facing left. The intaglio was later set into a Carolingian gold mount in the 9th century, becoming part of the “escrain de Charlemagne,” a lavish reliquary treasury piece kept at the Abbey of Saint-Denis until the French Revolution. The TMA replica (1923.1637) was photographed in the Coleman collection in Rome in 1894, confirming that it was created sometime in the 19th century, when demand for high-quality copies of ancient engraved gems was high.Published ReferencesSturgis, Russell, “The Coleman Collection of Antique Glass,” The Century Magazine, vol. 48, 1894, p. 558, fig. 17.