Female Lead

Antique Pendant-Brooch with a Shell Cameo of Athena in Gold, c. 1880


€ 980.00 *
Content 1 piece
Incl. VAT, Shipping
Antique Pendant-Brooch with a Shell Cameo of Athena in Gold, c. 1880
Antique Pendant-Brooch with a Shell Cameo of Athena in Gold, c. 1880
Description
This description was automatically translated from German. If you have any questions about this piece of jewellery, we will be happy to help!
This antique pendant-brooch shows the image of Pallas Athena, carved into a shell. The cameo is set in an elaborate gold frame, which allows the piece to be worn both as a brooch and as a pendant. Even the birth of the ancient goddess was adventurous: Zeus, the father of the gods, had devoured the Okeanid Metis, who was pregnant with two children, as he had been prophesied that her daughter would be his equal, but that her son would be his downfall. When Zeus suffered from a severe headache after this sacrilegious act, he asked the god Hephaestus to crush his head. Not only did he survive this dubious procedure - the goddess Athena emerged from his head in full armor. As she was born from the head of Zeus, Athena was regarded as the manifestation of the spirit and therefore as the goddess of wisdom and intelligence. She was also regarded as the goddess of strategy and war, craftsmanship and art, as well as the patron goddess of the city of Athens, which was named after her. Our cameo shows the famous goddess as a bust portrait. She is depicted in profile in a detailed cut. Her flowing hair is concealed under a typical Greek helmet, which is adorned with a nereid and a crest made of horsehair, the so-called lophos. The Brosch pendant, which was probably made in Germany around 1880, is beautifully preserved - a special collector's item with a cameo that was probably cut in the Bay of Naples. Pallas Athena came to us here in Berlin.
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Size & Details
Antique Pendant-Brooch with a Shell Cameo of Athena in Gold, c. 1880
Female Lead
€ 980.00 *
Content 1 piece
Incl. VAT, Shipping
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Our Promise
Our Promise

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