ClassificationsGreek and Roman Art
Intaglio Gem Depicting a Seated Apollo
CultureRoman
PeriodImperial
Datelate 1st Century BCE-early 1st Century CE
Credit LineGift of the Estate of Michael J. Shubin
Dimensions7/16 x 5/16 x 1/8 in. (1.1 x 0.8 x 0.3 cm)
Object number2012.032.026
Label TextApollo, semi-nude with drapery falling around his lower half, sits enthroned on this chromium chalcedony gemstone. He leans against a low pedestal and gazes at a laurel branch in his upraised left hand, his bow slung over his shoulder; before him, a raven perches on a stone. Representations of Apollo were popular with supporters of Octavian/Augustus (63 BCE-14 CE), who promoted the god as his divine protector, especially before and after the Battle of Actium (31 BCE), in which he defeated his rivals Marc Antony and Cleopatra VII, the last Ptolemaic queen of Egypt. Apolline imagery was consequently used to symbolize the golden age that Octavian/Augustus guaranteed (see also cat. no. 87). On gems, such motifs may have expressed general hopes for prosperity and success.Exhibition HistoryMaking an Impression: The Art and Craft of Ancient Engraved Gemstones, Michael C. Carlos Museum, August 27 - November 27, 2022
Published ReferencesLisbet Thoresen. Archaeogemmology and Ancient Literary Sources on Gems and Their Origins. in Gemstones in the First Millennium AD: Mines, Trade, Workshops, and Symbolism (proceedings of conference held October 20th - 22nd, 2015). Alexandra Hilgner, Susanne Greiff, and Dieter Quast (eds). Roman-Germanic Central Museum. Mainz: 2017. p. 188, fig 17E., p. 200, fig 24C.
ProvenanceEx coll. Michael Shubin (1950-2008), Montebello, California, purchased from Frank Sternberg AG, Zurich, Switzerland, November, 16, 2000, lot 1124.
Status
Not on viewCollections
- Greek and Roman Art
1st Century BCE
second half 1st Century BCE
ca. 1840
1st Century BCE
1st-2nd Century CE
1st-2nd Century CE
1st Century CE
late 1st Century BCE-1st Century CE
1st Century CE
ca. 77-78 CE
1st-2nd Century CE
late 1st Century BCE-1st Century CE
