CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.

This example shows a red-legged partridge with the gem cutter cleverly exploiting the colours of the natural stone for the design. For a similar cameo with a partridge see D. Scarisbrick, C. Wagner & J. Boardman, The Beverley Collection of Gems at Alnwick Castle, London, 2017, p. 92, no. 83, and for a short discussion of the type with a list of similar birds cut in the opposite manner - creating a dark device on a light ground, see J. Spier, Ancient Gems and Finger Rings, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, 1992, p. 160, no. 442. For another parallel, see Inv. no. 1872.6-4.1297 at the British Museum.