Cameo with Bust of a Hohenstaufen Emperor

Description In this cameo, an Hohenstaufen emperor with a laurel crown is dressed in military armor worn under a paludamentum or royal cloak, a form taken from antique Roman sources. The assimilation of classical iconography and style is a hallmark of the House of Hohenstaufen and the details of the face and drapery in this work relate it to this circle. The cameo is also similar to the gold Augustalis coin issued by the Frederick II, one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors from this house.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
10/20/1995	Loan Consideration	examined for loan
11/29/1995	Treatment	cleaned
5/02/1996	Treatment	mounted
5/15/2005	Loan Consideration	examined for loan

Exhibitions

• Early Christian and Byzantine Art. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. 1947.
• Jewelry - Ancient to Modern. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1979-1980.
• Federico II e l'Italia: percorsi, luoghi, segni e strumenti (Frederick II and Italy: Precursors, Places, Signs and Instruments). Palazzo Venezia in Rome, Rome. 1995-1996.
• Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation 962 bis 1806. Von Otto dem Grossen bis zum Ausgang des Mittelalters (The Holy Roman Empire: From Otto the Great to the Close of the Middle Ages). Magdeburger Museen, Magdeburg. 2006.

Provenance Collection of John Hunt, Dublin, Ireland; purchased by Walters Art Museum, 1946.

Credit Museum purchase, 1946