The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 24, 2023

Intaglio with Male Portrait Bust

500s

Byzantium, 6th century

Amethyst with gold mount

Overall: 4.3 x 2.5 cm (1 11/16 x 1 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1954.4

Location

104 Late Antiquity

Fun Fact

While the identity of this man is unknown, his portrait, carved into this gem, preserves his likeness. His family may have commissioned this artwork to remember him by. Do you have any keepsakes that remind you of family members?

Provenance
(Mrs. Paul Mallon, New York).
Citations
Milliken, William M. “Byzantine Goldsmith Work.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 41, no. 8 (1954): 190–95. Mentioned and illustrated. www.jstor.org
Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1954.4