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Lot Essay
This large and impressive Imperial portrait cameo is finely-sculpted in onyx of two layers, bluish-white on translucent orange-brown. The Emperor is depicted with his body shown 3/4 frontal while his head is in profile to the right. He wears a cuirass with plain shoulder straps and layered pteryges at his right shoulder. Across his chest is a scaly aegis centered by a gorgoneion. A paludamentum drapes over his left shoulder. He wears a laurel wreath in his wavy hair, tied at the back in a bow with the ribbon ends cascading behind his neck. His hair is arranged in rows of characteristic opposing comma-shaped locks. He has a high, slightly-creased forehead, a deep-set articulated eye, a prominent nose, and a small rounded chin, with thin lips slightly downturned at the corners. The cameo has been mounted in a heavy gold frame dating to the 17th or 18th century.
Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus was born in Lyon, France (ancient Lugdunum) in 10 B.C. He was the youngest son of the Emperor Tiberius' brother Drusus and Antonia the Younger, the niece of Augustus and daughter of Marc Antony. Due to poor health and a pronounced stammer, his family assumed that he would never amount to anything. According to Suetonius, even his own mother considered him "a monster, a man whom Mother Nature had begun to work upon but then flung aside" (Lives of the Caesars: Claudius, III,2). He was not granted any major position during the reigns of Augustus or Tiberius, but in 37 A.D., during the reign of his nephew Caligula, he shared the consulate and presided at the public games in the Emperor's absence. Claudius was possibly involved in the plot to assassinate Caligula, and he succeeded his nephew at the age of 51 as the fourth emperor of Rome on 24 January 41 A.D. Claudius ruled until 13 October 54 A.D., murdered by poison. Many ancient authors implicate his wife Agrippina in the Emperor’s death (see D.E.E. Kleiner, Roman Sculpture, pp. 129-134 and E.R. Varner, ed., Tyranny & Transformation in Roman Portraiture, p. 114).
Because Caligula was so hated for his many depravations, the Senate recommended a punishment of damnatio memoriae, in which his memory would be erased, but Claudius vetoed that decision. Despite the veto, many official portraits of Caligula were either destroyed or re-purposed to depict his successor. With marble statues, where the heads were made separately, they could be easily replaced, but for monolithic figures, recarving was required. This process also took place with some cameo portraits and indeed the somewhat tall, narrow profile of the Marlborough Claudius in comparison to some of the other surviving cameo portraits has suggested to some that it was originally meant for his predecessor (see Boardman, et al, op. cit., p. 242). According to Varner (op. cit., p. 114) "as a way of visually distinguishing the emperor from his hated predecessor Caligula, Claudius' portraits represent him with relatively realistic facial features, consonant with his age at the time of his accession. Claudius' more realistic portraits would have stood in marked contrast to the youthful images of Caligula, as well as those of Augustus and Tiberius."
Large scale cameos were a specialty of the Julio-Claudian period, and their production seemed to reach an apogee during Claudius’ reign. Most common are single subject portraits, as seen here; double portraits with emperor and spouse or intended heir are also known. In addition, there are multifigure grand cameos with dynastic or mythological narratives. Portrait cameos were probably made as gifts, serving as demonstrations of dynastic loyalty within imperial circles (see p. 6 in R.R.R. Smith, Maiestas Serena: Roman Court Cameos and Early Imperial Poetry and Panegyric).
The iconography displayed on this cameo, namely the aegis, an attribute of Jupiter, indicates that Claudius was the reigning emperor. While members of the Imperial family can wear a military cuirass, the aegis is exclusive to the emperor, representing his “supreme godlike power in Olympian terms” (Smith, op. cit., p. 18). He can also be shown with other Jovian symbols, such as the eagle or thunderbolt.
This cameo has a long illustrious ownership history. It was originally acquired in 1771 for £42 by George Spencer, Fourth Duke of Marlborough (1738-1817), whose collection of gems and cameos was arguably the largest and finest ever assembled. At that time it was thought to be a depiction of Caligula. Story-Maskelyne (op. cit.) considered it a portrait of Tiberius, and later, once it was in the collection of Sir Francis Cook following the second sale of the Marlborough Collection at Christie’s, Smith and Hutton (op. cit.) maintained that attribution. More recently, Platz-Horster (op. cit.) and Boardman, et al. (op. cit.) concluded that Claudius is the subject, which accords well with comparison to other surviving portraits of the emperor, cameos, coins and portraits in the round.
Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus was born in Lyon, France (ancient Lugdunum) in 10 B.C. He was the youngest son of the Emperor Tiberius' brother Drusus and Antonia the Younger, the niece of Augustus and daughter of Marc Antony. Due to poor health and a pronounced stammer, his family assumed that he would never amount to anything. According to Suetonius, even his own mother considered him "a monster, a man whom Mother Nature had begun to work upon but then flung aside" (Lives of the Caesars: Claudius, III,2). He was not granted any major position during the reigns of Augustus or Tiberius, but in 37 A.D., during the reign of his nephew Caligula, he shared the consulate and presided at the public games in the Emperor's absence. Claudius was possibly involved in the plot to assassinate Caligula, and he succeeded his nephew at the age of 51 as the fourth emperor of Rome on 24 January 41 A.D. Claudius ruled until 13 October 54 A.D., murdered by poison. Many ancient authors implicate his wife Agrippina in the Emperor’s death (see D.E.E. Kleiner, Roman Sculpture, pp. 129-134 and E.R. Varner, ed., Tyranny & Transformation in Roman Portraiture, p. 114).
Because Caligula was so hated for his many depravations, the Senate recommended a punishment of damnatio memoriae, in which his memory would be erased, but Claudius vetoed that decision. Despite the veto, many official portraits of Caligula were either destroyed or re-purposed to depict his successor. With marble statues, where the heads were made separately, they could be easily replaced, but for monolithic figures, recarving was required. This process also took place with some cameo portraits and indeed the somewhat tall, narrow profile of the Marlborough Claudius in comparison to some of the other surviving cameo portraits has suggested to some that it was originally meant for his predecessor (see Boardman, et al, op. cit., p. 242). According to Varner (op. cit., p. 114) "as a way of visually distinguishing the emperor from his hated predecessor Caligula, Claudius' portraits represent him with relatively realistic facial features, consonant with his age at the time of his accession. Claudius' more realistic portraits would have stood in marked contrast to the youthful images of Caligula, as well as those of Augustus and Tiberius."
Large scale cameos were a specialty of the Julio-Claudian period, and their production seemed to reach an apogee during Claudius’ reign. Most common are single subject portraits, as seen here; double portraits with emperor and spouse or intended heir are also known. In addition, there are multifigure grand cameos with dynastic or mythological narratives. Portrait cameos were probably made as gifts, serving as demonstrations of dynastic loyalty within imperial circles (see p. 6 in R.R.R. Smith, Maiestas Serena: Roman Court Cameos and Early Imperial Poetry and Panegyric).
The iconography displayed on this cameo, namely the aegis, an attribute of Jupiter, indicates that Claudius was the reigning emperor. While members of the Imperial family can wear a military cuirass, the aegis is exclusive to the emperor, representing his “supreme godlike power in Olympian terms” (Smith, op. cit., p. 18). He can also be shown with other Jovian symbols, such as the eagle or thunderbolt.
This cameo has a long illustrious ownership history. It was originally acquired in 1771 for £42 by George Spencer, Fourth Duke of Marlborough (1738-1817), whose collection of gems and cameos was arguably the largest and finest ever assembled. At that time it was thought to be a depiction of Caligula. Story-Maskelyne (op. cit.) considered it a portrait of Tiberius, and later, once it was in the collection of Sir Francis Cook following the second sale of the Marlborough Collection at Christie’s, Smith and Hutton (op. cit.) maintained that attribution. More recently, Platz-Horster (op. cit.) and Boardman, et al. (op. cit.) concluded that Claudius is the subject, which accords well with comparison to other surviving portraits of the emperor, cameos, coins and portraits in the round.