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Cicero

early 19th century
Not on view
The Neoclassical age prized the sternly republican marble head of Cicero (106–43 B.C.) in the Musei Capitolini, Rome. An intaglio after it by Nathaniel Marchant (40.20.1) circulated in the form of gypsum impressions. The Roman carvers of these two heads consulted the sculpture itself, obtaining different results. The more numismatic approach of the cameo carved about 1810–20 by a member of the Cerbara family (40.20.34), in which the features are affixed with broad authority, typifies the work of that clan (Gian Battista Cerbara [d. 1811] sired Giuseppe [1770–1856] and Nicola [1796–1869], Nicola succeeding Giuseppe as master of the papal mint). Yet Cerbara also employed the buff areas to suggest flesh, while the starker white-on-black contrast in Giuseppe Girometti’s Cicero evokes marble. Girometti’s work is also more detailed, delivering a keener sense of the great orator’s cogitations through his careworn features.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Cicero
  • Artist: Giuseppe Girometti (Italian, Rome 1780–1851 Rome)
  • Date: early 19th century
  • Culture: Italian, Rome
  • Medium: Onyx
  • Dimensions: Overall: 7/8 x 3/4 x 1 in. (2.3 x 1.9 x 2.6 cm); visible cameo (confirmed): 19.1 x 14.7 x 6 mm
  • Classification: Lapidary Work-Gems
  • Credit Line: The Milton Weil Collection, 1940
  • Object Number: 40.20.42
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

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Cicero, Niccolò Cerbara, Sardonyx; mounted in silver-gilt, Italian, Rome
Cicero
Niccolò Cerbara
ca. 1810–20
Nessus Abducting Dejanira, Giuseppe Girometti Italian, Sardonyx, mounted in gold as a pendant, Italian, Rome
Nessus Abducting Dejanira
Giuseppe Girometti
ca. 1815–25
Commemorating Pope Gregory XVI's Confirmaion of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith
Giuseppe Girometti
19th century
Head of Hercules, Giuseppe Girometti Italian, Sardonyx, Italian, Rome
Head of Hercules
Giuseppe Girometti
second quarter 19th century
Thalia, Giuseppe Girometti Italian, Onyx, Italian, Rome
Thalia
Giuseppe Girometti
second quarter 19th century

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