Les gemmes acquises par Gaston d’Orléans : nouvelles hypothèses sur le corpus

A fresh study of the available documentation makes it possible to identify between thirty-five and forty-one gems that initially belonged to Peter Paul Rubens and, later on, to the 1st Duke of Buckingham and to Gaston, Duke of Orléans. This paper thus argues that Gaston acquired about a fourth of the Duke of Buckingham’s collection of ancient gems and that he did so in Paris, during the Fronde. It also appears that Gaston selected the gems according to topics of interest. Many of the gems he acquired pertain (or might pertain) to political iconography (e.g. royal and imperial portraits featuring, in particular, Alexander the Great, as well as mythological scenes involving Hercules and Apollo). Such scenes are often engraved on prestigious and sizeable cameos. These images of power may reflect Gaston’s political ambitions at the time he bought his collection. Other gems selected by the duke include ‘erotic’ scenes and references to the pleasures of wine (e.g. depictions of female nudes and children’s bacchanalia). Finally, a third group of scenes show an interest in pagan religions (e.g. representations of Egyptian gods and scenes of sacrifice).