Gemma Augustea
A large onyx cameo in which the emperor Augustus is enthroned among the gods.
The cameo was cut around AD 10 in Augustus’s circle. It was bought by the emperor Rudolf II for an enormous sum and is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
Materials: Two-layered Arabian onyx, 17th-century gold mount
Manufacture: The white layer was cut away with fine drills and abrasive to leave the figures in relief against the dark.
The two layers: white figures on a brown-black ground.
The upper scene with the emperor and the lower with soldiers raising a trophy.