ClassificationsGreek and Roman Art
Intaglio Gem Depicting a Portrait Head of a Ptolemaic Queen
CultureGreek, Ptolemaic
Periodlate Ptolemaic
Date1st Century BCE
Credit LineGift of the Estate of Michael J. Shubin
Dimensions5/16 x 5/16 x 1/8 in. (0.9 x 0.7 x 0.3 cm)
Object number2012.032.010
Label TextThis sketchily executed portrait of a wide-eyed woman with full lips and plump cheeks may depict a Ptolemaic queen, perhaps the deified Arsinoe II (316-270 BCE). Royal status is suggested by the double diadem, which separates a fringe arranged in a coil along the forehead from the rest of her hair, which is gathered at the nape of the neck with several short wisps loosely falling over her ear. Peridot, known in antiquity as topazos, was mined within the Ptolemaic kingdom on the Red Sea island of Zabargad (ancient Topazos; cf. Pliny Natural History 37.108). In this way, the combination of stone and image articulates Ptolemaic mastery of the Egyptian land and its resources.Exhibition HistoryMaking an Impression: The Art and Craft of Ancient Engraved Gemstones, Michael C. Carlos Museum, August 27 - November 27, 2022
ProvenanceEx coll. Michael Shubin (1950-2008), Montebello, California, acquired April 2, 1988.
Status
Not on viewCollections
- Greek and Roman Art
1st Century BCE
3rd-2nd Century BCE
mid 3rd Century BCE
1st Century BCE
2nd Century BCE
late 1st Century CE
305-30 BCE
282-246 BCE
305-30 BCE
before 1970
