Gem depicting a female bust in the style of Faustina
Gem depicting a female bust in the style of Faustina

On view

Ancient Mediterranean Art

Gem depicting a female bust in the style of Faustina

Roman
Roman Imperial Period, ca. 30 BCE–476 CE
y1934-87 a

Engraved gemstones were popular and useful personal items in both Republican and Imperial Rome, and featured a wide range of subjects, including deities, portraits of individuals, everyday objects, and mythological scenes. Many of these gemstones were used as seals that their owners could press into clay or wax, leaving behind an impression of the engraved image. These impressions functioned as the owner’s signature in business, politics, and personal affairs. A gemstone’s material, the quality of its engraving, and the identity of its maker also demarcated its owner’s wealth and status. By the second half of the first century BCE, gems were also collectors’ objects or could function as votive objects that were given to a god. Wealthy Romans would compile cabinets of engraved gems and display them in their homes or dedicate them in temples.

Information

Title
Gem depicting a female bust in the style of Faustina
Medium
Green jasper
Dimensions
1.2 x 1.0 cm (1/2 x 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Ario Pardee
Object Number
y1934-87 a
Culture
Roman (style or period)
Period
Imperial (Roman)
Type
gems
Materials
jasper
Techniques
engraving (incising)
Subject
busts, women

Given to the Museum by Ario Pardee

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