Elijah cameo
Type:
Engraved gems
Date:
1220 to 1240
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Italy
Medium:
Stone
Dimensions:
2.7 × 2.86 cm
Description:
This chalcedony cameo depicts the ascension of the prophet Elijah on the front. The Hebrew inscription on the reverse says, "Elijah was raised to Heaven." It was probably made in Palermo, Sicily, at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (d. 1250). The gold mount dates to the sixteenth century.
Elijah's ascent to heaven is recounted in 2 Kings 2. As he rose on a three-horse chariot, his billowing mantle fell to Earth and was used to perform miracles by his heir, the prophet Elisha. The prophetic mantle, like royal and clerical mantles, thus signaled authority, holiness, and proper succession. When the cameo was produced between the 1220s and 1240s, Palermo was still a multicultural city and Frederick's court was an intellectual center comprising Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Frederick himself knew six languages (Arabic, Latin, Greek, and the German, French, and Sicilian vernaculars) and may also have read Hebrew. Seven other cameos with Hebrew inscriptions and Old Testament iconography were also made in Palermo, in addition to cameos with classical or New Testament themes. They demonstrate a revived interest in gem carving and in the classical past. This was also evident in the Roman-looking coins produced for Frederick II, especially the gold Augustalis, which depicts the medieval ruler as Augustus and has the imperial eagle on the back.
Jews were prohibited from carving gems in medieval Europe, but Frederick's court may well have ignored this stricture. The cameo could thus have been carved by a Jewish artist or by a non-Jewish craftsman working closely with someone who knew Hebrew. The emperor had extended special privileges to Jews in Sicily, and in his Constitutions of Melfi (1231), he argued that Jews and Muslims were being too severely punished for their faith.
Elijah was a type for Christ and was also a prophet in Islam. Thirteenth-century Jews believed that he could travel between heaven and earth, acting as God's agent to help those in need.
Elijah's ascent to heaven is recounted in 2 Kings 2. As he rose on a three-horse chariot, his billowing mantle fell to Earth and was used to perform miracles by his heir, the prophet Elisha. The prophetic mantle, like royal and clerical mantles, thus signaled authority, holiness, and proper succession. When the cameo was produced between the 1220s and 1240s, Palermo was still a multicultural city and Frederick's court was an intellectual center comprising Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Frederick himself knew six languages (Arabic, Latin, Greek, and the German, French, and Sicilian vernaculars) and may also have read Hebrew. Seven other cameos with Hebrew inscriptions and Old Testament iconography were also made in Palermo, in addition to cameos with classical or New Testament themes. They demonstrate a revived interest in gem carving and in the classical past. This was also evident in the Roman-looking coins produced for Frederick II, especially the gold Augustalis, which depicts the medieval ruler as Augustus and has the imperial eagle on the back.
Jews were prohibited from carving gems in medieval Europe, but Frederick's court may well have ignored this stricture. The cameo could thus have been carved by a Jewish artist or by a non-Jewish craftsman working closely with someone who knew Hebrew. The emperor had extended special privileges to Jews in Sicily, and in his Constitutions of Melfi (1231), he argued that Jews and Muslims were being too severely punished for their faith.
Elijah was a type for Christ and was also a prophet in Islam. Thirteenth-century Jews believed that he could travel between heaven and earth, acting as God's agent to help those in need.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
8
Repository and Online Resources:
• See an Augustalis of Frederick II minted in Messina, Sicily, on the website of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Image Credits:
Reproduced by permission of Sotheby's
