SOUTHERN ITALIAN, CIRCA 1220-1240 | CAMEO WITH A WALKING LION

This beautiful cameo with a walking lion compares closely another circa 1230 example which is set on the King David Statuette in the Historisches Museum, Basel (published in Kahsnitz, op. cit., vol. 5, p. 499, fig. 378). Another similar lion cameo from the same period is in the Hermitage, St Petersburg (also illustrated in Kahsnitz, op. cit., vol. 5, p. 500, fig. 379a). A close comparison is found in the famous cameo with Hercules and the Nemean Lion within a Garland from the Milton Weil collection, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. no. 38.150.23). The conception of the lion with its chunky forms, as well as the use of the dark brown layer of the stone with the lighter ground is very similar.

Each of these cameos was carved at the court of Frederick II Hohenstaufen, king of Sicily, between 1220 and 1250. The king promoted such lapidary works, which were often based on Roman glyptics or coins and were worn as amulets despite their often pagan significance. Another such cameo with an eagle is in the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg (inv. no. K-2140). The stylistic affinity between the present gem and Basel, St Petersburg and New York cameos is a strong argument for the present cameo also having heralded from the court of Frederick II Hohnestaufen at Palermo.

RELATED LITERATURE

R. Kahsnitz, Die Zeit der Staufer, Stuttgart, 1977, vol. 5., pp. 499-500, figs. 378-379a; J. D. Draper, 'Cameo Appearances,' The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, March 8–January 29, 2005, pp. 18-19, no. 30