Ring with narrow shaft and oval box set with cameo of Medusa

Ring with narrow shaft and oval box set with cameo of Medusa

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Gorgoneia or Medusa-heads were ubiquitious until the end of Greco-Roman antiquity. They appeared in many contexts, including personal jewelry. On the one hand they might serve as protective amulets, but they also serve the wearer as a concise touchstone for a rich mythological substratum. This Medusa head is carved in cameo technique, that is raised from the surface, rather than intaglio, that is sunken from the surface. Often as here cameos are also cut in banded stones that allow the carver to create an image and background of different colors.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ring with narrow shaft and oval box set with cameo of MedusaRing with narrow shaft and oval box set with cameo of MedusaRing with narrow shaft and oval box set with cameo of MedusaRing with narrow shaft and oval box set with cameo of MedusaRing with narrow shaft and oval box set with cameo of Medusa

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.