Gemma Claudia
The Gemma Claudia is a Roman five-layered onyx cameo of c.49. It later found its way into the Habsburg collections now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (AS Inv. No. IX A 63). It is 12 cm high and set in a gold rim.

It depicts two cornucopia (with an eagle between), out of which sprout four portraits, two on either side. On the left is the Emperor Claudius and his new wife Agrippina (as Cybele, the goddess of fertility) opposite them, Agrippina's parents Germanicus (also Claudius's brother) and Agrippina. Its 49 AD date places it soon after Claudius married Agrippina in January 49, and makes it possible that it was an official marriage gift to the imperial couple. 

The unknown artist carved the work from the five alternately dark and light layers of the stone with great virtuosity. They achieved an increased transparency of the material by cutting layers that in places are of unparalleled thinness (minimum 2 mm).
Q180884
onyx
Concept
Q28512
cameo
Concept
Q65968
Habsburg
Concept
Q95569
Kunsthistorisches Museum
LOC
Q1741
Vienna
LOC
Q332682
cornucopia
Concept
Q1411
Claudius
PER
Q154732
Agrippina
PER
Q188236
Cybele
MISC
Q191039
Germanicus
PER
Q229413
Agrippina
PER
Q2049619
Gemma Claudia
MISC
+49^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
49
NUMBER
+63^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
63
NUMBER
+12^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
12
NUMBER
+49^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
49
NUMBER
+49^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
49
NUMBER
+2^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
2
NUMBER
made from material
instance of
collection
height
location
spouse
spouse
spouse
spouse