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Head of Medusa

early 18th century
Not on view
Medusa was the Gorgon slain by Perseus, who presented her head crawling with serpents to the all-wise Minerva to wear on her shield. Medusa’s grisly yet mesmerizing countenance is encountered often on cameos, apparently as an advertisement of Minerva’s ability to ward off evil (see also 17.190.869 and 2003.431). This expressive example has been attributed both to the sixteenth century and to the nineteenth, but its robust, propulsive style and peculiar coloring, utilizing the top stratum’s brown to accent a snake and green flecks to create eerie effects against the pale cream body, may have been more thoroughly at home in the age of the Baroque.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Head of Medusa
  • Date: early 18th century
  • Culture: Italian
  • Medium: Sardonyx
  • Dimensions: Overall, with bail: 3 1/4 x 2 11/16 in. (8.2 x 6.8 cm); visible cameo (confirmed): 72.4 x 58.9 x 20.2 mm
  • Classification: Lapidary Work-Gems
  • Credit Line: The Milton Weil Collection, 1938
  • Object Number: 38.150.35
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

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Head of Medusa, Benedetto Pistrucci Italian, Red jasper mounted in gold with white enamel, Italian, executed in England (London)
Head of Medusa
Benedetto Pistrucci
Carlo Giuliano
cameo 1840–50, mount ca. 1860
Bona Sforza (1493–1557), Queen of Poland, Giovanni Jacopo Caraglio Italian, Sardonyx, with inlaid gold and silver details; mounted in 19th century frame as a pendant in gold, with enamel, pearl and ruby, Polish, Krakow cameo with French frame
Bona Sforza (1493–1557), Queen of Poland
Giovanni Jacopo Caraglio
cameo ca. 1530–40, frame 19th century
Angels Bearing the Body of Saint Catherine to Mount Sinai, Luigi Saulini Italian, Sardonyx, Italian, Rome
Angels Bearing the Body of Saint Catherine to Mount Sinai
Luigi Saulini
Heinrich Karl Anton Mücke
mid-19th century
Emperor Charles V (1500–1558) and his Son Philip II of Spain (1527–1598), Leone Leoni Italian, Sardonyx, Italian, Milan
Emperor Charles V (1500–1558) and his Son Philip II of Spain (1527–1598)
Leone Leoni
1550
Bust of a Roman Emperor / Bust of a man of African descent, Sardonyx and gold, Italian
Bust of a Roman Emperor / Bust of a man of African descent
Italian
mid-16th century

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