Sotheby's Institute of Art Digital Commons @ SIA MA Theses Student Scholarship and Creative Work 2018 The "Whys" of the Grand Cameo: A Holistic Approach to Understanding the Piece, its Origins and its Context Constantine Prince Sidamon-Eristoff Sotheby's Institute of Art Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.sia.edu/stu_theses Part of the Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Art and Architecture Commons, Fine Arts Commons, and the Metal and Jewelry Arts Commons Recommended Citation Sidamon-Eristoff, Constantine Prince, "The "Whys" of the Grand Cameo: A Holistic Approach to Understanding the Piece, its Origins and its Context" (2018). MA Theses. 14. https://digitalcommons.sia.edu/stu_theses/14 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship and Creative Work at Digital Commons @ SIA. It has been accepted for inclusion in MA Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ SIA. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. The “Whys” of the Grand Cameo: A Holistic Approach to Understanding the Piece, its Origins and its Context by Constantine P. Sidamon-Eristoff A thesis submitted in conformity With the requirements for the Master’s Degree Fine and Decorative Art and Design Sotheby’s Institute of Art 2018 Word Count: 14,998 The “Whys” of the Grand Cameo: A Holistic Approach to Understanding the Piece, its Origins and its Context By: Constantine P. Sidamon-Eristoff The Grand Cameo for France is the largest cameo surviving from antiquity. Scholars have debated who is portrayed on the stone and what its scene means for centuries, often, although not always, limiting their interpretations to this narrow area and typically only discussing other causes in passing.