History of Iron Age swords and scabbards, £85.00
Length: 14.000 mm
Width: 10.000 mm
Blacas Collection
GR 1867. 5-7.724 (Gem 1966)
Greece and Rome
Red jasper intaglio: portrait head of Mark Antony
Roman, about 40-30 BC
The engraver has cut an exceptionally clear profile portrait, with long tousled hair, the locks carefully delineated, and no beard. The nose is hooked, the slightly open mouth down-turned, and the chin prominent. The features resemble those of Antony on some of his coin portraits, and the bust ends at the neck.
The intaglio may have been used as a seal by one of Mark Antony's supporters.
S. Walker and P. Higgs, Cleopatra of Egypt: from histo (London, The British Museum Press, 2001)
S. Walker and A. Burnett, Augustus: handlist of the exhi, British Museum Occasional Paper 16 (, 1981)