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MUSEUM QUALITY MAN CAMEO Bearded male profile bust, facing right. The style of the clothing is from the early 1600's. The collar, the shoulders of the shirt and the placket (the opening of the shirt where the buttons sit) are in the English style. The clothing indicates the wearer is from the middle rank of society rather than a nobleman. The collar is unfastened; this is the traditional symbol of a poet. The figure probably represents the English poet and playwright Ben Jonson (1572 - 1632.) It likely was made to appeal to the English tourist trade and may originally have been one of a set depicting various English poets. |