Not currently on display at the V&A

Roma

Cameo
ca. 1800 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is a cameo made in Rome around 1800 and signed Mango. The cameo is oval, carved in onyx with the Genius of Rome.

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 Byzantine 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.
Many gems were carved in the neo-classical style popular in the late 1700s and early 1800s, when taste in the arts echoed the subject matter and style of the Greek and Roman masters. Thousands of gems were made in this style in Italy and brought back by British Grand Tourists, who went there to visit the newly-discovered classical antiquities and archaeological sites.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleRoma (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Carved onyx
Brief description
Carved, onyx, depicting Roma, signed by Mango, Italy, ca. 1800
Physical description
Oval carved onyx cameo of two strata depicting the Genius of Rome, seated.
Dimensions
  • Height: 36mm
  • Width: 29mm
Object history
Bought from the Webb Collection in 1874.
Summary
This is a cameo made in Rome around 1800 and signed Mango. The cameo is oval, carved in onyx with the Genius of Rome.

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 Byzantine 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.
Many gems were carved in the neo-classical style popular in the late 1700s and early 1800s, when taste in the arts echoed the subject matter and style of the Greek and Roman masters. Thousands of gems were made in this style in Italy and brought back by British Grand Tourists, who went there to visit the newly-discovered classical antiquities and archaeological sites.
Bibliographic reference
List of Objects in the Art Division, South Kensington, Acquired During the Year 1874, Arranged According to the Dates of Acquisition. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., p. 21
Collection
Accession number
282-1874

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Record createdOctober 29, 2004
Record URL
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