gems, glyptic, engraved gems, agate, cameo, intaglio, Naples, Italy, Rome, Greece, Asia, India, Egypt

The gem collection at the National Archaeological Museum has remained practically unpublished, with few exceptions, although casts of some of its most famous pieces are held in major museums around the world. A new display now makes it possible to present the collection to the public in its entirety and to reconstruct its history—engraved gems and cameos, largely of ancient origin. The Hellenistic Greek world was renowned for the skill of its artisans, and the pieces are extraordinary for their value and refinement of execution. The Farnese Cup, a masterpiece of glyptic art of all times and the largest known cameo—created by an artist in Ptolemaic Egypt—can be said to serve as an emblem of the entire collection. Over the centuries it passed from hand to hand, from imperial Rome to Asia, to Aragonese Naples, before ending up in the collection of Lorenzo the Magnificent and later in the Farnese collection. But all the pieces—about five hundred are on display—have had a long history. Among them are the Orsini collection, rich in portrait cameos of famous men, and the collection of Lorenzo the Magnificent, later enriched with works by sixteenth-century artists. The final gems in this unique collection date to the eighteenth century.