For the Love of Art

Italian Shell Cameo Of Raphael As Brooch, Around 1850

€ 498.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Italian Shell Cameo Of Raphael As Brooch, Around 1850

Description

This description was automatically translated from German. If you have any questions about this piece of jewellery, we will be happy to help!

A young couple meets us in this cameo staggered one behind the other in profile. It wears clothes as they were worn in the years around 1500 and takes us to the years of the Renaissance. Chin-length hair frames the man's head, which is covered by a voluminous beret. The lady in the background wears a precious hood with pearl trim. Both figures are lifted into the sky by clouds. But it is not the heaven of the ancient gods: It is the heaven of fine arts that is meant here, because a painter's palette with brushes gives the hint that a painter is depicted here: And indeed Raphael is meant, here together with his mistress Margherita Luti. Even during his lifetime Raffaello Santi (1483-1520) was so famous that he was usually referred to only by his first name. His greatest rival and the only artist whose own fame overshadowed Raffaello's during his lifetime was Michelangelo. Even in the 19th century, Raphael's paintings, especially his Madonna paintings, were still appreciated and admired so much that they were copied and reproduced numerous times, on porcelain, in copper engravings and also in paintings. The brooch presented here shows the appreciation of Raphael in those years, we date it to the middle of the 19th century. His mistress Margherita Luti, called "la Fornarina" (the little baker) had also long been widely known. Raphael had portrayed her several times and lent her face to his Madonnas, for which she had sat as a model. The unusual cameo was most probably cut in Italy, where it was acquired as a travel souvenir and brought to England, where the setting of so-called pinchbeck was added, designed in the taste of the time with many small C curves. The collectible piece of jewellery, to be worn as a brooch, came to us from an important Berlin collection.

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A rather forgotten chapter of jewelry history today are the many substitutes for the expensive precious metals gold and silver that have been used over the centuries. The names of these inventions are legion, perhaps you have heard of Tombak or Alpacca, German silver or Argentan? In the 19th century, gold was often replaced by brass, alloys of copper and zinc. The London watchmaker Christopher Pinchbeck (ca. 1670 - November 18, 1732) invented a special alloy named after him, whose color was particularly close to gold and from then on became especially popular in England. On Christopher Pinchbek, see Ginny Reddington Dawes / Olivia Collings: Georgian Jewellery 1714-1830, Woodbridge 2007, p. 80 pp. 39f.

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Size & Details

For the Love of Art

€ 498.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Our Promise

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You can rely on our years of experience in the trade and our expertise as a professional art historians for reviews of the antique jewellery. As a member of various trade organisations and the British Society of Jewellery Historians, we remain committed to the highest possible degree of accuracy. In our descriptions, we always also indicate any signs of age and defects and never hide them in our photos – this saves you from any unpleasant surprises when your package arrives.

Should you for some reason not be satisfied, please don’t hesitate to contact us so that we can find a solution together. In any case, you can return any article within one month and we will refund the full purchase price.

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For the Love of Art

Brooches & Pins

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