Roman Cameo by flavia49
Close
Hover over top left image to zoom.
Click anywhere to exit.
Members remain the original copyright holder in all their materials here at Renderosity. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth is prohibited and is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise.
No AI - This artwork was created entirely by hand or with traditional digital tools.
Description
This is one of the imperial cameos kept in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. This exquisite cameo is called "The Gemma Claudia," a Roman five-layered onyx cameo, ca. 49 EC. Two pairs of symmetrical busts sprout from two cornucopias: on the left the emperor Claudius (10 BC - 54 AD) and his fourth wife, Agrippina the Younger (15/16 - 59 AD). Across from them stand the busts of the parents of the bride: the brother of the emperor, Germanicus (15 BC - 19 AD), and his wife, Agrippina the Elder (14 BC - 33 AD). Claudius married for the fourth time in 49 AD. There were great expectations of Agrippina the Younger, who on the cameo is portrayed as Cybele, the goddess of fertility, and hopes that following the assassination of her predecessor, Messalina, things would take a turn for the better. Yet her elevation to the rank of Augusta and the adoption of her son Nero would have disastrous consequences for the emperor and state. By marrying the great-granddaughter of Augustus, Claudius strengthened the connection between the Julian and Claudian families. Possibly this stone was an official wedding gift to the imperial couple.
Comments (39)
BEAUTY
Interesting and beautiful.
very intriguing and beautiful cameo
Fascinating historical info and a fine piece of art. Wonderful,detailed capture!
wow... cool stuff
Wonderful art and history
Great photograph of this amazing and beautiful artifact. Interesting and informative commentary as well, particularly regarding Agrippina the Younger. Born in what is now Koln GE she is generally thought to have poisoned her husband Claudius and was of course later killed by her own son Nero. As you say, disastrous implications for the emperor and state, as Nero's own death brought about the end of the Julio-Claudians, and, after the period of the four quickly eliminated emperors from Galba to Vitellus, brought in the time of the "regular Joe" lower social order soldier emperors beginning with Vespasian. Beautiful photo of this object and reminds us that the ancients weren't stupid people and that in many areas of life and art modern humans are no more "advanced" and indeed possibly less so than our long-ago ancestors.
Great catch!
A magnificent shot of exceptional cameos beautiful material and beautiful photo!!!
Great shot :)
nice shot
Lovely cameo, splendid capture!
Interesting infos, nice shot of this superb cameo !
beautiful.!!
Very beautiful!
this is beautiful!
It is beautiful!
Excellent image and fine detailed descriptive! Most interesting to see and read!
Cool image & info
Beautifully done Flavia and very interesting information! But why is it in Vienna rather than in Rome?
It's in Vienna because Vienna was the seat of the Hapsburgs, the last emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. The imperial cameos passed from emperor to emperor as part of the imperial treasury; even after the fall of the Roman empire they continued to be part of the imperial treasury. The various pretenders to the throne of Emperor of the Roman Empire (the Western part) and, after Charlemagne, of the Holy Roman Empire became the owners and so they were inherited by the Hapsburgs.
Indeed a beautiful and very distinct artifact, nothing like I have ever seen before and something that will outlast most likely everything we know, such a great Cameo - different from the ones you see nowadays, because it's Onyx !... and not made from shell, coral, ivory, lava, or mother-of-pearl etc.
Beautiful item.
Interesting...! I see Aliens wrapping around their necks!
Excellent
Cool
Interesting history!!!
Great capture.
Interesting capture !!
This is wonderful!