Roman: The Great Cameo of France, five-layered sardonyx cameo, 1st century CE. Currently on display in the Cabinet des Médailles, Paris

The largest Roman imperial cameo to have survived, the Great Cameo of France is engraved with fwenty-four figures from the Julio-Claudian dynasty.

The upper levels of the cameo show deceased and/or deified members of the dynasty, such as Divus Augustus (Augustus Caesar), Drusus the Younger (son of Tiberius Caesar) and Drusus the Elder (brother of Tiberius Caesar). The middle tier shows Tiberius Caesar alongside his mother Livia Drusilla (wife of Augustus Caesar) and his designated heir Germanicus. Behind Tiberius and Livius are Claudius Caesar (who was emperor when the cameo was made) and his fourth wife Agrippina the Younger.

Copyright:

Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

Marie-Lan Nguyen

Credit:

Pictures From History