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© Bruce M. White, 2021.
Intaglio Gem Depicting a Bust of the Personification of Roman Africa
© Bruce M. White, 2021.
© Bruce M. White, 2021.
© Bruce M. White, 2021.
ClassificationsGreek and Roman Art

Intaglio Gem Depicting a Bust of the Personification of Roman Africa

CultureRoman
PeriodAugustan
Datelate 1st Century BCE
MediumMicrocrystalline quartz, var. carnelian
Credit LineGift of the Estate of Michael J. Shubin
Dimensions9/16 x 7/16 x 1/8 in. (1.4 x 1.1 x 0.3 cm)
Object number2008.031.031
Label TextThis cornelian stone presents a bust of the personification of Africa. She is crowned with an elephant-scalp headdress, its trunk extended upward over her face and ears hanging behind her head. This attribute was borrowed from the royal imagery of the Ptolemaic dynasty, the Macedonian rulers of Egypt between 323 and 30 BCE. Ptolemy I, the founder of the dynasty, first issued coins with his predecessor’s image, Alexander the Great, wearing the elephant scalp to signify his conquests in North Africa and Asia. Ptolemaic and north African rulers then continued to use the elephant scalp in their own portraiture to suggest their connections to Alexander the Great and their hegemony over their respective kingdoms.

This personification, with her fleshy face and wide eyes, is similar to portraits of Ptolemaic queens, most notably Berenike II (ca. 267–221 BCE). The long, curling locks framing her face were also commonly deployed in royal portraits to signify a connection with the Egyptian goddess Isis. These features were first combined to represent Alexandria, the Ptolemaic capital of Egypt and a center for trade through which materials and goods from the rest of the continent, including precious gemstones, passed. By the 1st century CE this the image of a woman wearing an elephant-scalp was commonly used to represent the Roman province of Africa, encompassing, for the Roman audience, an image of abundance and an expression of imperial power.
Exhibition HistoryMaking an Impression: The Art and Craft of Ancient Engraved Gemstones, Michael C. Carlos Museum, August 27 - November 27, 2022
ProvenanceSaid to have come out of England. Ex coll. Michael Shubin (1950-2008), Montebello, California, purchased from Harlan J. Berk, Ltd., Chicago, Illinois.
Status
Not on view
Collections
  • Greek and Roman Art