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Victorian Shell Cameo of Hebe in Gold Mount, England/Italy circa 1860


€ 980.00 *
Content 1 piece
Incl. VAT, Shipping
Victorian Shell Cameo of Hebe in Gold Mount, England/Italy circa 1860
Victorian Shell Cameo of Hebe in Gold Mount, England/Italy circa 1860
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 woman in antique garb has settled down on a band of clouds. Her hair is pinned up at the nape of her neck and the cloak of her peblos billows in the wind of the moving celestial scene. A mighty eagle, almost as large as herself, approaches in flight and feeds from a bowl that she holds ready on her knees and fills from a jug. What we see in this mid-19th century Victorian shell cameo is a scene from classical mythology often depicted in the medium of the cameo in the 19th century. The female figure is Hebe in her function as cupbearer to the Olympian gods before she is replaced by Ganymede and Zeus in the form of an eagle, who in this case is accompanied by a bundle of fire in his fangs as an attribute. The cameo consists of the shell of a sea shell 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. The gold setting bears an English hallmark and we date the piece of jewellery to around 1860. The cameo came to us from Freiburg im Breisgau.
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Homer regularly mentions nectar and ambrosia in the Iliad and the Odyssey as the immortalizing food of the gods. In the graduated mythological tradition, Hebe is said to have been replaced in this task by the Trojan prince Ganymede after her marriage to Heracles, who then became cupbearer to the gods.
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Size & Details
Victorian Shell Cameo of Hebe in Gold Mount, England/Italy circa 1860
Served Up!
€ 980.00 *
Content 1 piece
Incl. VAT, Shipping
Our Promise
Our Promise
Our Promise

We want you to be 100% satisfied! For that reason, we examine, describe and photograph all of our jewellery with the utmost care.

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.

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