Cameo depicting Alessandro de' Medici, plasma in oval gold setting; probably by Domenico di Polo, Italy, 1532-47

Cameo head in profile to the right. Dark green plasma, mounted on a vertical oval chased gold background. Alessandro de' Medici is portrayed with short curly hair and a thin short beard. The gold mount continues the portrait where the head leaves off, being chased to represent a collar, and a cloak over armour. A gold peg passes through the hair to fix the cameo to the mount. Ring for suspension.

Formerly in the collection of Bram Hertz and acquired by the Liverpool collector Joseph Mayer. This cameo was sold at Sotheby's in 1859 in the sale by Mayer of what had been the Bram Hertz collection, and acquired by Chaffers for Matthew Uzielli (1805-60). It was subsequently bought by the Museum, together with five other engraved gems, at or following the Matthew Uzielli Sale, Christie's London, April 12-20 1861, lot 1286. Matthew Uzielli was a wealthy banker, railway magnate and a celebrated collector of paintings and decorative art, for whom John Charles Robinson (the first curator of the South Kensington Museum) sometimes bought objects. Together with the Prince Consort he was the major guarantor of the 1862 International Exhibtion.

Historical significance: This portrait of Alessandro de' Medici is part of a group of portrait medals and engraved gems generally ascribed to medallist and gem-engraver Domenico di Polo (c.1480-1547). Domenico de Polo was appointed court medallist to both Alessandro and Cosimo de' Medici, dukes of Florence. He engraved dies for portrait medals of both, and portraits of Alessandro in gemstones. He is thought to have trained under Giovanni delle Corniole and Pier Maria Pescia, in whose workshop he was active from 1501. A layered agate cameo and a gold relief on a green jasper ground, both in the Museo degli Argenti, Florence (inventory numbers 112 and 172), form part of this group. Other engraved gems of Alessandro include two intaglios, one of rock crystal and one of cornelian, in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, and the Hermitage, St. Petersburg respecively.

The art of engraving gemstones can be traced back to ancient Greece in the 8th century BC and earlier. Techniques passed down to the Egyptians and then to the Romans. There were major revivals of interest in engraved gems in Europe during the Byantine era, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and again in the 18th and 19th centuries. At each stage cameos and intaglios, these skillful carvings on a minute scale, were much prized and collected, sometimes as symbols of power mounted in jewelled settings, sometimes as small objects for private devotion or enjoyment. This portrait represents one of the powerful Florentine de' Medici family, Alessandro de' Medici. Alessandro, who lived from 1510-1537, is thought to have been the illegitimate son of Giulio de' Medici, who later became Pope. It has been suggested that his mother was a servant, a black or Moorish freed slave. Alessandro was duke of Florence from 1530-37, when he was assasinated by his cousin. The cameo is part of a group of similar portrait medals and engraved gems generally thought to have been made by the medallist and gem-engraver Domenico di Polo (c.1480-1547). Domenico de Polo was appointed court medallist to both Alessandro and Cosimo de' Medici. He engraved dies for portrait medals of both, and portraits of Alessandro in gemstones.

7553-1861