on assumption that it had not been stolen by the Swedes in 1648. This results in considerable confusion between the two. Subject The cameo shows the profiles of a man and a woman which conceivably possess family likeness. This capita jugata type of portrait, showing two superimposed profiles, is known from the coins issued by Ptolemy II Philadelphus in Hellenistic Egypt. Such portraits show Ptolemy with his sister and wife, Arsinoe II. Ptolemy was the first Hellenistic ruler to marry his sister; and it was at his court that the image of the twin deities, theoi adelphoi, gained currency. To shore up the identification, it has been argued that the woman's head on the cameo is covered with a sort of bridal veil. J. J. Pollitt of Yale University believes that it is the Vienna cameo that represents Ptolemy and Arsinoe. As for the Saint Petersburg cameo, Pollitt argues that the sharply defined quality of the "neoclassical" workmanship indicates a later date than is commonly recognized. He identifies the figures as Tiberius and Livia represented "in very generalized form so that they would simultaneously evoke the imagery of a Ptolemaic cameo and, through it, the imagery of Alexander". References Bibliography External links www.cammeogonzaga.it - a website dedicated to the cameo and its exhibition in Palazzo del Te, Mantua 3rd-century BC works Roman Empire cameos Collection of the Hermitage Museum Hellenistic art Ptolemaic Kingdom Archaeological discoveries in Italy Cameo