A bearded, nimbate St George in military garb rides a horse right; he holds a spear in his raised right arm and aims at a dragon on the ground beneath him. Behind and before his head is the Greek inscription ΟΑΓΕΩ (O A GEO).

Many fine-quality cameos carved from a variety of materials - including bloodstone, sardonyx, lapis lazuli, sapphire, amethyst and rock crystal - were produced in Constantinople between the ninth and 13th centuries. Most of these gems depict images of Christ, the Virgin or various saints. Although rarely found on cameos, military saints on horseback, most often identified as St. Theodore, Demetrios or George, enjoyed great popularity in the Byzantine period as protectors from evil forces and their images were frequently found on icons of all sorts. In this example, the saint is identified by the Greek lettering around his head, an abbreviation for ΟΑΓΙΟΧΓΕΟΡΓΙΟΧ (O AGIOS GEORGIOS).

The cameo, although in the Byzantine style, does display some stylistic peculiarities which call its origin into question. The stocky figure of both the saint and his horse are unlike other depictions on cameos from Constantinople. It is also unusual that the saint is bearded, for in most Byzantine representations he is shown as young, curly haired and without a beard. Even the dragon is not the serpent-like creature typical of Byzantine representations but the plump, winged monster more common in the West. These anomalies suggest that the cameo is not Byzantine but rather a Venetian work in the ‘byzantinising’ style and carved during the early 13th century at the time of the Venetian occupation of Constantinople.

Text adapted from Ancient and Modern Gems and Jewels in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen, London, 2008