Italian Shell Cameo of Raphael as Brooch, c. 1850

For the Love of Art

Italian Shell Cameo of Raphael as Brooch, c. 1850

€ 498.00 ^*

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!

A young couple appears to us in this cameo, arranged one behind the other in profile. They are dressed in clothing typical of around 1500, transporting us back to the years of the Renaissance. The man’s head is framed by chin-length hair and covered with a voluminous beret. The lady in the background wears a precious headdress adorned with pearls. Both figures are lifted into the sky by clouds. Yet this is not the heaven of ancient gods: it is the heaven of the fine arts, indicated here by a painter’s palette with brushes, suggesting that the figure depicted is an artist. And indeed, it is Raphael himself, here shown together with his lover Margherita Luti. During his lifetime, Raffaello Santi (1483–1520) was so famous that he was generally referred to simply by his first name. His greatest rival, and the only artist whose own fame overshadowed Raphael’s during his lifetime, was Michelangelo. Even in the 19th century, Raphael’s paintings, especially his Madonnas, were highly valued and so admired that they were frequently copied and reproduced – on porcelain, in engravings, and in paintings. The cameo presented here demonstrates the admiration for Raphael in those years; we date it to the mid-19th century. By then, his lover Margherita Luti, known as la Fornarina (“the little baker”), was widely recognised. Raphael had portrayed her on several occasions and lent her features to the faces of his Madonnas, for which she had posed. The unusual cameo was most likely carved in Italy and acquired there as a travel keepsake, before being brought to England, where the setting in so-called Pinchbeck was added. The design of the setting, in the taste of the period, features numerous small C-scrolls. This collectible piece of jewellery, intended to be worn as a brooch, came to us from a significant Berlin collection.

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A rather forgotten chapter of jewellery 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 colour 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

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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For the Love of Art

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