Elegant Gold Ring with a Cameo in Hardstone, Circa 1870 & later

Ideals of beauty change over time. What was still desirable a few centuries ago sometimes no longer seems relevant today. In classicism, for example, a healthy complexion was a sign of abject poverty; only a pale complexion was considered beautiful. In the Baroque period, Peter Paul Rubens set the framework for the ideal of beauty of his era with his voluptuous portraits of women, while today the Western world strives for thinness. But as ideals change, so do the compliments. Today, the term "cow" is considered unflattering for a lady. In classical antiquity, the value of the dairy animal in relation to the fairer sex was completely different. One of the epithets of Hera, one of the most important goddesses in the Olympian heaven of gods, is "βοῶπις" (boopis), "the cow-eyed one". And that was meant as a compliment, because cows sometimes have really beautiful and, above all, big eyes! This ring shows a depiction of Hera in the medium of the cameo. Hera can be recognized by her diadem, the so-called Stepháne (Greek στεφάνη), which distinguishes her as a married woman. On our cameo, we see Hera in profile to the right. She is wearing an antique garment, the peplos, which shows us the fashion of antiquity. The beautiful setting of finely crafted gold is set with shimmering pearls. It was created together with the cameo around 1870, probably as one of two earrings. The ring band was added at a later date, turning the cameo into a ring. This beautiful ring came to us from Switzerland.

Estimate:£749.42

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