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Oval gem with portrait of Julius Caesar
European
Renaissance
late 16th to early 17th century A.D.
Medium/Technique
Carnelian
Dimensions
Length: 14 mm (9/16 in.)
Credit Line
Bartlett Collection—Museum purchase with funds from the Francis Bartlett Donation of 1912
Accession Number27.739
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Gems
Catalogue Raisonné
Lewes House Gems, no. 117 (1920; 2002, additional published references).
DescriptionBrownish red-orange carnelian (also called sard). Intaglio. Flat front and back; set in gold ring. Portrait head of Julius Caesar in profile to left, wearing laurel wreath tied with fillet. Gem is broken in two pieces held together by mount.
ProvenanceBought in England by Edward Perry Warren between 1914 and 1917 (according to J. D. Beazley, The Lewes House Collection of Ancient Gems, no. 117); April 5, 1926: loaned to MFA by Edward Perry Warren (as 98.26). November 17, 1927: purchased by MFA from Edward Perry Warren for $ 161,000.00 (this figure is the total price for MFA 27.647-27.761)