Plaque fragment with bearded cameo bust
Plaque fragment with bearded cameo bust
Place of OriginEgpyt or Italy
Date1st-2nd century CE
DimensionsL: 1 1/2 in. (3.7 cm); W: 1 1/8 in. (2.2 cm)
MediumCameo glass
ClassificationGlass
Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number
1923.1511
Not on View
DescriptionThis fragment comes from a flat cameo glass plaque, carved in opaque blue over a colorless background. It preserves the bust of a bearded male figure facing right. The figure wears a laurel wreath, and his beard and hair are carefully arranged, with some locks falling down the back of the neck. The finely carved features and workmanship suggest skilled production, likely for decorative purposes. Such plaques may have been inlaid into larger luxury items. The style of the figure is comparable to relief sculpture from the Flavian period, particularly a figure in the Cancellaria Relief showing the Senate and Roman people in procession (see Bianchi Bandinelli, Rome, the Center of Power, 1970, p. 213, fig. 236).
1st century CE
Mid- to late 4th century CE
1st century BCE - 4th century CE
1st century BCE - 3rd century CE
1st century BCE - 3rd century CE
1st century BCE - 3rd century CE
1st century CE
1st century BCE - 4th century CE
about 1500 BCE
1st century BCE - 3rd century CE
Late 16th-13th century BCE
Membership
Become a TMA member today
Support TMA
Help support the TMA mission