Cameo Gem with Portrait of Emperor Augustus. Transparent brownish-amber and colorless glass; cast, possibly engraved. This object is a partially preserved cameo glass portrait of the Roman emperor Augustus (63 B.C.- A.D. 14). The glass used for the portrait is a brownish-amber transparent glass, which was placed over colorless transparent glass. The gem was manufactured by casting the amber glass in a mold, and adhering it to an oval colorless cast glass disk. Some additional engraving may have been done to the gem following its casting in order to refine the facial details and emphasize the curls of the hair.