gems, glyptic, engraved gems, agate, cameo, intaglio, Greece, Greek, Alexandria, Ptolemy

Cameos were devised sometime during the Hellenistic period and were employed primarily in a decorative context. In both style and subject matter, they reflect the artistic developments seen in intaglios, other forms of glyptic art, and contemporary coinage. This paper focuses on two related series of cameos that appear to have been produced in Alexandria during the later Hellenistic period, likely under direct Ptolemaic patronage. Their examination is undertaken in light of a reassessment of the Tazza Farnese, with the aim of advancing an additional argument supporting the dating of this Grand Cameo to the first century BC.