Cleveland Museum of Art

Cameo: Head of Diana

Date

25 BCE - 100 CE

Medium

glass

Culture

Italy, Roman

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This cameo depicts the Roman Goddess of the Hunt, Diana, known as Artemis to the Greeks. She faces left with her hair bound at the back of her head, her signature quiver of arrows visible over her shoulder. Roman cameo glass was made by fusing layers of different colored glass on top of one another, then carving down to reveal each different color. There are at least four layers of glass in this cameo: a dark layer for the hair, a whitish layer for the skin, middle tone for the background, and a dark purple for the base. Ancient glass did not glitter; the iridescent film on this cameo developed over thousands of years.

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