Detailed Shell Cameo of a Bacchante as a Brooch in Gold, Russia, Dated 1894

An exquisite shell cameo from the last years of the 19th century is presented in this fine brooch. A simple setting of 14-carat gold holds the cameo, which shimmers in delicate shades of cream. In fine cut we see a beautiful young lady with flowing hair in profile. She wears a rich ornament of vine leaves and grapes in her hair. As the gold setting bears Russian hallmarks, it is quite likely that this is a cameo bought by a Russian traveller in Italy which was then set in his homeland. The sitter has the fur of a panther wrapped around her shoulders and a so-called thyrsos staff with pine cones in her hand. The figure is a bacchante. Like her Greek counterpart, the Maenad, she was a follower of the wine god Bacchus (Dionysus), who was famous and infamous for his lavish parties, the so-called "Bacchanalia". The image of the Bacchante in Western art history is strongly influenced by the form that the cult, which was Greek in origin, took with the Romans. The Roman Bacchanalia probably originated from spring festivals. At the beginning of the 2nd century B.C. the cult celebrations developed into excessive feasts, which were accompanied by dances and orgies and which took place in secret. In later centuries, bacchants became synonymous with celebrating fun-loving people, but especially with lovers of good wine. Our shell cameo, whose presumably contemporaneous setting can be dated to 1894 thanks to Russian gold marks on the needle, shows one of these bacchantes in all her enchanting beauty. The cut of the cameo is extremely detailed and testifies to the high skill of the probably Italian cameo cutter who once created it. Thus this piece of jewellery lends itself particularly well to being a gift for a lady who is not averse to the pleasures of life.

Estimation:€790

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