Beautiful Shell Cameo of a Bacchante, Italy ca. 1870

Jewellery served in earlier days far more than today also to express his daily moods and feelings. In a world in which many topics were taboo for a conversation with decency and personal feelings often had to be excluded from society, this was sometimes an outlet to still be able to communicate. A popular medium for this was the cameo. As the British author Edward Good wrote in his text "Cameos and Inspiration Jewellery" in 1914: "Among the thousands of mythological, classical and historical motifs which the ancient artists depicted on cameos, one can always find a cameo which is a true expression of one's own mental and spiritual mood. Once you have found one that you really like, the attachment to it is almost human. After all, what is ancient mythology if not the mirror of life and death, love and disappointment of our natural ancestors?" The beautifully cut cameo here is no exception. It depicts a young lady with flowing hair. She wears a rich jewellery of vine leaves and grapes in her hair - the sitter is therefore a bacchante. Like her Greek counterpart, the Maenad, she was a follower of the wine god Bacchus (Dionysus), who was famous and infamous for his lavish parties, the so-called "Bacchanalia". In later centuries, Bacchants became synonymous with celebrating fun-loving people, but especially with lovers of good wine. Our cameo was probably cut in the years around 1870 at the Bay of Naples. It is held by a simple cord setting of gilded silver. The chain which makes it a necklace is a later addition. Thus, the appropriate piece of jewellery for a person who is not averse to the pleasures of life.

Estimate:£749.42

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