Italian, 16th century

This intriguing cameo could be a portrait, and bears some resemblance to the female Venetian humanist writer Cassandra Fedele (1465-1558). The necklace and veil recall contemporary portraits of Fedele on medals and prints. Compare with the print from Giacomo Filippo Tomasini's "Elogia virorum literis ... " (Padua, 1664) in the British Museum, inv. no. 1867,0309.230), or the medal of the same subject in the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti.

Note the comparison with a plaster cast after a 15th-century medal representing Fedele in the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz (inv. no. 5155). A 15th century dating for the present cameo cannot be discounted.