The Complete Content Cameos

by M. Henig, H. Molesworth

The present catalogue of the largest collection of ancient cameos in private hands, represents forty years of collecting these historical documents in hardstone. While the gems were on public display at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, between 1990 and 2000, but the entirety of the collection has never before been seen. Recent publications have made it possible to draw more precise conclusions based on a far larger sample of cameos available for comparative study. The greatly increased number of published cameos has further allowed studies of the relative popularity of particular subjects at certain periods, of development of style and technique, and of the popularity of some gem materials over time. The development of digital photography has enabled gem photographers to show undreamt-of detail, allowing much closer study of tool marks and even individual artists' hands.