An 18k red gold shell cameo grand parure "à la grecque"
Comprising a shield-form tiara with ribbons, a pair of variable earrings for day or night wear, a pair of bracelets with decorative barettes, a belt, an oval brooch pendant and a necklace. All pieces decorated with shell cameos finely carved with mythological scenes in repoussé acanthus and shellwork surrounds with meander and triangle motifs. In the sumptuous original embossed leather box lined with cherry red silk and velvet. L tiara 15 cm, max. H 7 cm. H earrings 9.5 cm in total. L bracelet 18 cm, H barette 7.5 cm. H belt buckle 9.5 cm. H brooch 7 cm. L necklace 48 cm, H pendant (3.0 x 2.3 - 4 x 3.2 cm). Total weight 241.56 g. Box dimensions 13.5 x 40 x 31 cm.
Probably England, c. 1860. The cameos Italian or English.
The tiara decorated with three large shell cameos with depictions of Cupid and Psyche flanked by cupids riding on a dog and a lion. The earrings with medusa heads (on the studs) and Eros / Psyche (on the drops). The bracelets with Mars, Venus and Eros / Zeus, Hera and Mercury. On the belt buckle Venus and Cupid, the brooch shows Athena. The necklace with ten graduated cameos depicting Hephaistos, Diana, Apollo, Flora, Apollo and Erato, Kybele, Mercury, Flora, Neptune and Selene. All cameo reliefs have the theme of love in common. This representative and exceptionally well-preserved jewellery set was probably given as a wedding gift. Interesting is the unusual motif of the triangle, reminiscent of masonic symbols. Triggered by the excavations in Pompeii and by the research of J. J. Winckelmann, the ancient art of carving cameos experienced a resurgence in popularity during the Neoclassical period, which reached a further peak in the age of Historicism and World Fairs in the second half of the 19th century.