 The Gem was given by Peter Paul Rubens, who declared that he loved gems beyond all other relics of antiquity, to Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, in the 17th century.Another famous gem from the Marlborough Collection that is also sometimes known just as the "Marlborough Gem" is a head of Antinous.The artist's signature is minutely incised into the black background of the stone, just above the central figures in the frieze-like procession.