Medusa Cameo: 3rd c. AD; Mount: early 17th c.
Onyx: pinkish-white on grey; open silver-gilt mount with suspension loop | 2.1 x 2.0 x 0.8 cm (cameo) | RCIN 65605
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Medusa head (gorgoneion) with wings in the wild hair and snakes around the face. This is an extremely common subject, especially in the late Roman period, presumably offering demonic protection for the wearer in the way the same subject does on a shield or aegis.
On the reverse of the cameo there is an engraved symbol resembling an inverted triangle, which may point to the stone having been used during the medieval period as a sign of the Trinity or indicating that it had a further amuletic function in combination with the Medusa.
The back is rough and broken having been cobbed out of the stone with a hammer.
Reverse of cameo: engraved symbol resembling an inverted triangle
Text adapted from Ancient and Modern Gems and Jewels in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen, London, 2008Provenance
First recorded in the Royal Collection in 1872
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Medium and techniques
Onyx: pinkish-white on grey; open silver-gilt mount with suspension loop
Measurements
2.1 x 2.0 x 0.8 cm (cameo)
Category