A Continental European Multi-Layered Hardstone Cameo of the ...

A Continental European Multi-Layered Hardstone Cameo of the Emperor Domitian Probably Italian, 17th century, the elongated oval hardstone cameo carved in low relief with a laureate and cuirassed bust of the Roman emperor Domitian in profile to sinister, the dark grey figure is reserved against a white ground, with the contrasting strata of the stone exploited to articulate the laurel wreath, tightly curled hair, patterned collar, scale armour and deeply folded military drapery and tied laurel, the reverse is flat and polished, incised in Roman capitals: DOMITIANVS. AVG. for Domitianus Augustus, 7.8cm x 5cm, approx 1cm deep Provenance: Collection of J. M. Truyols Rovira, Predio Morell, Artà, Mallorca; Pierre Bergé & Associés, Predio Morell: La Nobleza y la Aristocracia en Mallorca, 3 July 2016, lot 1. References and Comparisons: A 17th-century shell cameo of Domitian from a series of the Twelve Caesars is preserved in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, while the British Museum holds a stone portrait medallion of Domitian with an identifying inscription on the reverse, likewise forming part of a Twelve Caesars series. Large hardstone portraits of the Caesars were also produced in Italian lapidary workshops during the 16th and 17th centuries

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