Italian, 18th century | Cameo with a Classical Hero, possibly Diomedes

This exquisite cameo is distinguished by its sophisticated pose with the hero in profile with his shoulder turned outwards. Such arrangements are seen in ancient Roman cameos; see, for example, the possibly 1st-century BC cameo with Hercules and Omphale in the Beverley Gems collection owned by the Duke of Northumberland (inv. no. 10809). The present figures bears a resemblance to the Greek hero Diomedes; see the cameo by Giuseppe Girometti in the British Museum (inv. no. 1867,0507.803) which derives its composition from the Felix Gem in the Ashmolean (inv. no. AN1966.1808).

The model is close to that seen in a cornelian intaglio by Louis Siries in the Kunsthistorisches museum, Vienna (inv. no. XII.342) which is recorded in the Paoletti collection (inv. no. MR 27914).

RELATED LITERATURE

D. Scarisbrick, C. Wagner and J. Boardman, The Beverley Collection of Gems at Alnwick Castle, London, 2017, p. 85, no. 77; L. Pirzio Biroli Stefanelli, La collezione Paoletti, Stampi in vetro per impronte di intagli e cammei, vol. i, Rome, 2013, p. 291, no. 90