Lot Essay
The cameo is cast from layered glass, white on black, in imitation of onyx. Medusa is shown in profile to the left, with wings in her hair and serpentine locks falling along her neck. Medusa was perhaps the most popular subject for Roman cameos, typically shown either frontally or in profile, as here. For the type, compare the onyx cameo, no. 502 in J. Boardman, et al., The Marlborough Gems.