Of all the many classical-looking ladies with tambourine-like objects you are likely to see as a cameo collector, it may come as a surprise that quite a few will turn out to be Tuccia (Too-ksee-ah), a vestal virgin accused of fornication. Vestal virgins were priestesses of Vesta, Roman goddess of the hearth. They tended the sacred flame of Rome and were required to take a vow of chastity for the duration of their 30-year service, after which they could marry and were considered highly eligible brides with attractive pensions. When Tuccia’s virtue was questioned—probably through a malicious rumour—she resolved to defend herself. Invoking the protection of her patron goddess, she sought to prove her innocence with a test. If she could carry water from the River Tiber to the temple of Vesta in a sieve without water spilling out through the holes, her life and reputation would be saved. In front of all the sceptics, Tuccia miraculously succeeded in her task without losing a drop of water. Her famously watertight sieve became a metaphor for both her honour and for female chastity in general.
As a cameo subject, Tuccia appears as a draped female holding what may look like a shallow bowl, a tambourine or a drum. We do not know the exact nature of the utensil, but it probably resembled the winnowing basket (used for separating chaff from grain) shown at right.
The famous 18th century gem engraver Giovanni Pichler created four versions of the virtuous Vestal.
She may be depicted carrying it horizontally, either at chest level together with a cloth at one end or pressed against her hip or thigh with one hand whilst holding a billowing veil in the other.
The black and white onyx cameo from the British Museum, with the female figure holding a circular object just below hip level, is described as depicting a bacchante with "tambourine", but is virtually identical to Tassie gem impression 15623 in the Beazley Archive showing Tuccia with her sieve as engraved by Pichler. The blue dip jasper cameo to her right is identified by Wedgwood as Tuccia.
Tuccia may also stand holding the sieve vertically by the rim with one hand whilst pointing to its round base with the other. Another Tassie impression of a gem by Pichler shows her in this very stance and you can even see the tiny perforations in the base of the utensil, effectively distinguishing it from any other circular object such as a tambourine or drum held by female dancers and bacchantes. The Wedgwood blue dip jasper cameo is surely a copy of Pichler's gem.
Both the modern mass-produced black resin cameo and the hardstone one replicate the Pichler gem with Tuccia pointing to the bottom of the sieve, but fail to show the perforations.
If the female holding the round object vertically by its rim at waist height or above is not actually pointing to it with the other hand, she is unlikely to be Tuccia. The female at left is most probably holding a tambourine (which of course also has no perforations, other than those around the rim).
The white lava cameo on the left also appears to show a female tapping a tambourine rather than pointing to a sieve. No perforations are visible, and as these would be relatively easy to indicate in lava, one must assume the carver had a dancer in mind. The female in the shell cameo on the right also appears to be playing the tambourine and has a similar light-footed, dancing aspect.
Apart from sundry dancers and bacchantes, there is another cameo figure that might be confused with Tuccia holding her sieve vertically, and that is Raphael's Fourth Hour of the Day. Instead of a sieve, she holds a sundial, supporting it underneath with one hand while gripping its rim with the other. She also has the look of floating is space rather than standing or walking on firm ground.
Pichler's fourth composition shows Tuccia with her back towards us but twisting round slightly as she holds the sieve down vertically by her leg with one arm, as if in the act of tipping the water out after completing her test. The hardstone cameo ring below appears to show Tuccia doing the same thing but facing forwards: she empties the sieve with both hands, the telltale stream of water (which is broken in the carving) spilling onto the ground. Alternatively this group of variants may depict her mid-test, having to pour some of the water out because the sieve is too full and is overflowing, which might give the false impression of leaking.
Perhaps other variants will come to light in future, although some ambiguity is likely. If museums have problems recognising Tuccia in cameos, it is very doubtful that the carvers themselves have always been aware of her true identity.
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