The Blacas Cameo is an unusually large Ancient Roman cameo, 12.8 cm (5.0 in) high, carved from a piece of sardonyx with four alternating layers of white and brown.[1] It shows the profile head of the Roman emperor Augustus and probably dates from shortly after his death (aged 75) in AD 14, perhaps from AD 20–50.[2] It has been in the British Museum since 1867, when the museum acquired the famous collection of antiquities that Louis, Duke of Blacas had inherited from his father, also including the Esquiline Treasure.[3] Normally it is on display in Room 70.[4]
It is one of a group of spectacular imperial engraved gems, sometimes called "State Cameos",[5] that presumably originated in the inner court circle of Augustus, as they show him with divine attributes that were still politically sensitive, and in some cases have sexual aspects that would not have been exposed to a wider audience.[6] These include the Gemma Augustea in Vienna (which also has the Gemma Claudia showing the Emperor Claudius and his brother with their wives) and the Great Cameo of France in Paris.[7]
- ^ Williams, 296. Most sources, including the current BM web-pages, say three layers, but the white re-emerges again above the brown on the aegis
- ^ Williams, 296. The current BM web-pages prefer 14-20 AD.
- ^ Highlights; Williams, 296, 345
- ^ BM online catalogue
- ^ As by Henig, 156
- ^ Highlights; Williams, 296
- ^ Henig, 154-156; Boardman, 274