Art Institute of Chicago

Cameo Portraying Emperor Claudius as Jupiter

Roman; Italy

Date

Cameo: Roman, mid-first century Mount: Italian, late 16th century

Medium

Cameo: sardonyx Mount: gold, pearls, and enamel

Culture

Italy

Department

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This intricate cameo is carved from a piece of sardonyx, a mineral composed of parallel colored bands. The figure at the center is depicted with the portrait head of an emperor from the Julio-Claudian dynasty (27 BCE–68 CE) and the idealized, partially nude body of the supreme deity Jupiter (the Greek god Zeus). He holds the god’s scepter and thunderbolt while an eagle, Jupiter’s companion animal, perches at his feet. Created for circulation among members of the imperial court, the cameo boldly equated the ruler’s power over the Roman Empire to that of Jupiter over the entire cosmos.

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