Large shell cameo of the Hebe in silver mount, Italy around 1860 and later

A woman in antique garb has settled on a band of clouds. Her hair is pinned up at the nape of her neck and the cape of her peplos billows in the wind of the moving, heavenly scene. A mighty eagle, almost as large as herself, approaches in flight and drinks from a bowl that she holds on her knees and fills from a jug. What we see in this shell cameo is a scene from classical mythology that has often been depicted in the medium of the cameo since the 19th century. The female figure is Hebe in her function as cupbearer to the Olympian gods before she was replaced by Ganymede. Zeus appears in the form of an eagle, whose attribute here is a bundle of fire in his fangs. The cameo consists of the shell of a sea snail and appears in beautiful, light shades of white against a cream-colored background. We assume that the relief was cut in Italy, probably in the Bay of Naples, and has lost its original setting in the course of history. The simple silver setting with ball clasp is a post-war piece, probably made to make the antique cameo wearable again. The relatively large cameo came to us here in Berlin.

Estimate:£332.06

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