Object Number | 29-128-89 |
Current Location | Collections Storage |
Provenience | Mediterranean |
Period | 19th Century |
Date Made | 1800-1899 |
Section | Mediterranean |
Materials | Chalcedony | Onyx |
Technique | Cameo |
Iconography | Alexander Severus |
Description | Sommerville: Chalcedony-Onyx. Alexander Severus, 29th emperor of Rome AD 222-235. Proclaimed emperor through the influence of Julia Maesa. He built the circus Argonale which is now the Piazza Navona. Marine and Naval forces held exercises here in boats adapted to the depth of the water. There were places for spectators as in the Colosseum. Severus notices in the combats in the Colosseum that one of the soldiers, a Goth named Maximinus was more robust than the others and conquered in the contests. He advanced him and made him a general and when Maximinus found his power so great he rewarded Alexander Severus by assasinating him and his mother Julia Mamaea. Greek and Roman Cameos, Case E. Vermeule: Cameo. Chalcedony-Onyx. [unmounted] Laureate, draped bust of a Roman emperor facing to right "Alexander Severus (AD222-235) Nineteeth century; copied from a coin or medallion portrait. |
Credit Line | Bequest of Maxwell Sommerville, 1904 |
Other Number | 89 - Sommerville Gem Number |
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