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Ancient Roman cameo (first century CE) depicting the deified Augustus, his new status signaled by the crown of rays (corona radiata) he wears, assimilating him to the sun god. Now in the Romisch-Germanisches Museum, Cologne, Germany. Photo credit: Carole Raddato/Wikimedia Commons/ Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic
Agate-chalcedon cameo by an unknown Italian artist, ca. 1550, depicting Charles V of the House of Habsburg, Holy Roman Emperor (1519-1556), King of Spain (1516-1556), and Lord of the Netherlands as Duke of Burgundy (1506-1555). Charles is depicted in classical fashion, in profile and crowned with a laurel wreath. The cameo is now in the Cabinet des médailles of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris. Photo credit: © Marie-Lan Nguyen / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY 2.5.
Quartz crystal sealstone (2.9 cm in diameter, 0.9 cm thick), known as the "sealstone of Mani". The stone bears the intaglio busts of three devotees of Manichaeism, the faith founded by the Mesopotamian prophet and thinker Mani (ca. 216-277 CE). Syncretizing many other faiths and religious movements of his day, including Christianity (both "orthodox" and Gnostic), Zoroastrianism, and Buddhism, Mani conceived of the cosmos as entrapped in a ferocious struggle between the Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of Darkness. His Manichaean followers were divided into two groups: the Elect, who purified their bodies through a rigorous regime of diet and sexual abstinence in order to attain the Kingdom of Light, and the "Hearers," who attended upon the Elect and whose hopes for salvation depended upon the Elect's prayers for them. Among the later "Hearers" of Manichaeism was the future St. Augustine of Hippo.
The inscription surrounding the three figures on this sealstone is in Syriac, the lingua franca of the Near East in late antiquity. It reads M’ny šlyḥ’ d-yyšw‘ mšyḥ, "Mani, messenger of the Messiah"--a frequent salutation used by Mani to his followers in his preserved letters. It is thus possible, though not certain, that this sealstone was used by Mani himself to seal his documents. It now resides in the Cabinet des Médailles, Paris.
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons/ALFGRN
A prince of the Ptolemaic dynasty represented as the god Hermes. Sardonyx cameo by an unknown artist, ca. 250 BCE. Now in the Cabinet des médailles, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris. Photo credit: © Marie-Lan Nguyen / Wikimedia Commons /
CC-BY 2.5
Ancient Egyptian girdle, made from cowrie shells, gold, carnelian, feldspar, and copper-silver alloy, belonging to the Princess Sithathoryunet, thought to have been the daughter of the 12th Dynasty ruler Senusret II (r. 1897-1878 BCE). Found in the tomb of Sithathoryunet (BSA Tomb 8) in the Fayum; now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Ancient Roman sardonyx cameo showing Emperor Constantine I being crowned by the Tyche (Fortune) of Constantinople. Artist unknown; 4th cent. CE. Now in the Hermitage. Photo credit: Sailko/Wikimedia Commons.
Ancient Roman cameo (chalcedony) depicting a triumphal procession. Now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Ancient Greek or Roman sardonyx cameo with a Bacchic group. Artist unknown; 1st cent. BCE/CE. Now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
