Apollo and Marsyas

15th century

Not on view

Some of the grandest figures of their respective eras, from Lorenzo the Magnificent to Catherine the Great, were ardent collectors of ancient glyptics. Connoisseurs were well aware of the praise that the writers of antiquity had heaped on specific cameo carvers. Copies initially reached the wider public in the form of bronze replicas and, later, engravings. Inevitably, the rage for cameos entailed a certain amount of forgery and twisting of facts.

This plaquette was cast after a prized carnelian, one of the gems amassed by Lorenzo de' Medici, now in the Museo Archeologico, Naples.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Apollo and Marsyas
Date: 15th century
Culture: Italian
Medium: Bronze, light color with dark brown lacquer
Dimensions: 1 5/8 × 1 3/8 in. (4.1 × 3.5 cm)
Classification: Medals and Plaquettes
Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1927
Object Number: 27.14.3
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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