Marcus Aurelius

A carved oval cameo of a bearded man in right profile, with tightly curled hair and a draped garment at the shoulder. The layered brown and white bands of the stone form the background and the frame, setting off the pale relief of the head.

Look closer: The layered banding of the stone forms a thin pale ring inside the dark outer edge of the oval.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 16th–early 17th century

Medium

Sardonyx or onyx

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

3000 × 4000 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Milton Weil Collection, 1938