Antique cameo of Achilles in layered agate as a pendant in gold, circa 1875

The one with the heel

Antique cameo of Achilles in layered agate as a pendant in gold, circa 1875

€ 2,490.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Description

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

The hero looks to the side with a calm gaze: a fine beard and curly sideburns frame his face, long hair flows over his shoulders. His helmet is adorned with a laurel wreath and a small dragon sits on top of the warlike accessory. Here we see Achilles, the (almost) invulnerable hero from the Trojan War. The son of a sea nymph and a king of men had only one vulnerable spot on his body: his heel. And as fate would have it, just after he had slain his greatest enemy, he was struck by an arrow right there - and killed. In the ancient world, he was considered the epitome of the hero. Youthful and handsome, magnanimous, strong and willing to sacrifice his life for the right cause. Achilles is carved with great skill from a hard stone. The depiction corresponds to a famous cameo with the portrait of Achilles by Luigi Isler, which was exhibited at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1867. An illustration of the cameo, albeit mirror-inverted, can be found in Archibald Billing: The Science Of Gems, Jewels, Coins, And Medals, Ancient and Modern, London 1867, fig. 171. The image was very successful and was executed several times by different artists in the years immediately following. The profile portrait shown here is most likely the work of a stone cutter from Idar, as stone cutters in the Hunsrück region developed a special, Europe-wide celebrated mastery of gem cutting from their long tradition of working with hard agate in the 19th century. The local gemstone museum offers an exciting insight into this! However, Achill then became a pendant in Great Britain, as the hallmark on the reverse reveals. We believe that the piece was created in the 1870s. However, we have added the chain, which was newly made for us.

Size & Details

The one with the heel

€ 2,490.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

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.

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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The one with the heel

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