Gold and Shell Cameo Necklace
Lot Closed
June 3, 02:15 PM GMT
Estimate
6,000 - 10,000 GBP
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Read more.Lot Details
Description
Composed of ten oval shell cameos depicting scenes of Cupid from mythology such as Venus & Adonis and Cupid with Psyche, within gold beaded frames, on fine belcher chains.
- Length approximately 480mm
- Mid 19th Century
- Gross weight approximately 85.5 grams
David Bennett, Daniela Mascetti, Understanding Jewellery,1989, pg.66 for a necklace of similar design
This necklace presents a sequence of mythological allegories centered on Cupid, whose recurring presence unifies a series of scenes drawn from Roman mythology. Read from left to right, the cycle explores multiple narratives and symbolic associations connected to love, desire, and divinity.
The 2nd and 3rd scenes depict Cupid with Psyche, referencing the myth recorded in Metamorphoses by Apuleius. Their relationship is often interpreted allegorically as the union of divine love and the human soul. The following cameo includes Jupiter, who sanctioned the marriage of Cupid and Psyche, granting Psyche immortality, meaning that they could remain together. In the following cameos, Cupid appears: carried upon the back of the personification of Day, shown in the forge of Vulcan, the divine smith and Cupid carried upon the back of the personification of Night. Further scenes depict the myth of Venus with Adonis, Venus with Cupid, and finally Cupid with Bacchus. Both the first and last cameo depict Cupid with an Erotes.