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Sleeping shepherdess in a moonlit landscape

probably late 16th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 536
Gems carved with highly pictorial evocations of nature by the great virtuoso Alessandro Masnago were eagerly sought by collectors, particularly Emperor Rudolf II in Prague. The thoroughgoing artistry with which Masnago could discern the marvels inherent in a piece of stone still causes the beholder to gaze in wonder and delight at this shepherdess sleeping with her flock and her dog amid the moonbeams and treetops elicited from the hues and forms of a variegated agate, akin to moss agate.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Sleeping shepherdess in a moonlit landscape
  • Artist: Alessandro Masnago (Italian, active ca. 1560, died 1620)
  • Date: probably late 16th century
  • Culture: Italian, Milan
  • Medium: Agate
  • Dimensions: Overall: 3 1/16 x 2 9/16 x 3/8 in. (7.8 x 6.5 x 0.9 cm); 78 x 65.1 x 9.3 mm
  • Classification: Lapidary Work-Gems
  • Credit Line: The Milton Weil Collection, 1938
  • Object Number: 38.150.33
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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