This exquisite peice is a large onyx cameo, or a gemstone carved in low relief, that portrays a scene that glorifies Augustus as triumphant over barbarians and as the defied emporer. Augustus, the emporer, is sitting crowned in the middle of the upper register. He is surrounded by the different gods that he was thought to present during different times of his ruling. In the lower register are Roman soldiers who are posting the defeated enemy below for all to see.When I first saw this picture I immediately thought of a pendant that my mother has. It is also carved into onyx, but instead of the full scene as above, there is a woman's head. When I asked her about who the woman was she told me that the pendant had been passed down for generations between my family, and the woman in the pendant is my great great grnadmother. Apparently my g. g. grandfather had it made for her when he left to join the military. I thought it was really cool that even in today's day and age, we still see the Roman touch through art.
