Antique Gold Set Shell Cameo as Brooch, Italy ca. 1870

Ideals of beauty change over the course of time. What was desirable a few centuries ago sometimes no longer seems relevant today. In classicism, for example, a healthy complexion was a sign of poverty; a pale complexion alone was considered beautiful. In the Baroque period, Peter Paul Rubens set the framework for the ideal of beauty of his era with his portraits of plump ladies seeking to convince with rich body fat, where today the Western world hungers for slimness. But as ideals change, so do compliments. Today, calling a lady a "cow" is considered unflattering. In classical antiquity, the valuation of the dairy animal in relation to the fair sex was entirely different. Thus one of the epithets of Hera, one of the most important goddesses of the Olympian heaven of gods, is "the cow-eyed one" and this was meant as a compliment. Because cows sometimes have really beautiful eyes! The beautiful brooch of the years around 1870 shows a finely cut cameo of bicoloured shell. The "cow-eyed woman" is depicted with finely graduated heights. Hera can be recognized by her diadem, the so-called Stepháne (Greek στεφάνη), which distinguishes her as a married woman. On our shell cameo we see Hera in profile to the right. The beautiful setting of 14-carat gold shows filigree ornamentation and a brooch on the reverse makes the cameo suitable for wearing as a brooch. The setting, workmanship and design language allow us to date the piece, which found its way to us in London, to the period around 1870. Do you also know a lady with eyes as beautiful as those of a cow? Then you have found a suitable gift here!

Estimate:£1,265.65

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