Exquisite Georgian Necklace with Shell Cameos in Gold, c. 1815

lot/exquisite georgian necklace with shell cameos in gold c 1815 e7EWhBc 620357282 / Price history

lot/exquisite georgian necklace with shell cameos in gold c 1815 e7EWhBc 620357282

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lot/exquisite georgian necklace with shell cameos in gold c 1815 e7EWhBc 620357282

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Exquisite Georgian Necklace with Shell Cameos in Gold, c. 1815

In the early 19th century, it was no longer considered chic to express one's rank solely through the display of wealth. Those who were modern and kept up with the times collected ancient Roman cameos as an expression of classical education and literacy. They were collected in so-called dactyliothecae, either as originals or as plaster casts: Anyone who owned a dactyliotheca belonged to the respected, classically educated elite. However, new cameos and designs of mythological scenes were also created that were deliberately intended to appear ancient Roman. A notorious example of this is the collection of Prince Poniatowski. Contemporary cameo cutters copied the ancient models or their casts from the dactyliothecae as a source of motifs for jewellery. The exquisitely cut cameo necklace presented here is also a piece that reproduces the aesthetics of ancient Roman cameos in the contemporary medium of the shell cameo. Its cameos are only loosely connected in terms of content, but overall show a tendency to illustrate love relationships, from Ariadne and Bacchus to Cupid and Psyche. From left to right, we see eleven scenes from the world of the gods of classical antiquity: 1. Erato, the muse of love poetry, with lyre, 2. Psyche with her attribute, the butterfly, 3. Ariadne, the wife of the wine god Bacchus, with panther, 4. a similar scene, probably Ariadne with panthers again, 5. Cupid and Psyche with doves as love attributes, 6. Ariadne and Bacchus, as the largest cameo in the center of the necklace, 7. Ariadne and Cupid offering her a drinking vessel, 8. Diana, the goddess of the hunt, with a crescent moon in her hair and hunting dogs, 9. Hebe offering ambrosia to Zeus in the form of an eagle, 10. a woman with a butterfly, probably Psyche again, and 11. Calliope, the muse of epic poetry and philosophy, with a writing tablet. The depictions are carved in shell, with the finest details and elegant proportions. The individual cameos are then set in gold and each backed with a flat quartz cabochon to enhance the delicate shell. Three fine gold chains connect each of the scenes. An elegant clasp, designed in contemporary taste as a palmette, turns the arrangement into a necklace. Necklaces of this type came into fashion at the beginning of the 19th century and remained so until the early 1830s. In the winter of 1810, for example, one read: '[...] cameos in rings, brooches, combs, and crescets, are in the highest estimation; they are much used also in necklaces large in the center, but of a diminished size towards the ends.' This is exactly the shape of our necklace. Gem necklaces were worn to high-ranking events such as gala receptions, opera evenings or balls. Only the upper echelons of society could afford them. Many a dealer therefore turned directly to the nobility. In 1826, for example, an advertisement for a ball at the London Opera House stated, 'H. Thompson begs to draw the attention of the Nobility and Gentry to his imitative cameo bracelets and necklaces, as being a peculiarly appropriate and elegant addition to the fancy dresses usually worn on such occasions.' The term 'imitative' here refers to the fact that the cameos were cut after ancient Roman models. A wonderful, extremely high-quality example of the reception of antiquity during the Regency period - and a living reminder of a bygone era of candlelit balls. Quotes from [Anon:] 'Fashions for December', The Kentish Gazette, December 7, 1810, p. 2, and The London Morning Herald, April 13, 1826, p. 1.

Estimate:£13,573.89

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