POPE (ALEXANDER, 1688-1744, poet) FINE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY CAMEO RELIEF MEDALLION PORTRAIT OF POPE BY JAMES TASSIE (1735-1799), head and shoulders, profile facing right, cast vermilion glass and sulphur composition, contained in the original paper frame (formed from a single strip) and gilded, eighteenth-century collection number ('76') in ink on lower rim, eighteenth-century Raspe number (14364) in pencil on upper rim, 27 mm high x 22 mm wide

Pope was the most portrayed personality of his time, other than royalty; sixty-six originals being recorded.

For Tassie, see the entry for Samuel Johnson in this catalogue. This portrait of Pope is listed in and therefore predates Rudolph Eric Raspe's Descriptive Catalogue of Ancient and Modern Engraved Gems, 1791.

£850