Moving shell cameo as a pendant in gilded silver, circa 1870

Beatrice Cenci

Moving shell cameo as a pendant in gilded silver, circa 1870

€ 390.00 ^*

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 woman, lovely and friendly, looks at us over her shoulder. Rich curls billow out from under her headscarf. Her gaze is open, friendly, but not without a hint of sadness and sorrow. Who is this young beauty who has been awaiting her fate here for more than 150 years? A comparison with historical engravings reveals that she is Beatrice Cenci, a noble Roman woman whose life and death stirred emotions in the 17th century and who was revered as a martyr of unjust justice until the 19th century. Beatrice suffered at the hands of her violent father, who abused her and presumably repeatedly assaulted her. In her desperation and hopeless situation, as she had no legal means of freeing herself from her father's violence, she plotted the murder of her own father with her stepmother and brothers. On September 9, 1598, her father was actually killed by hired help. However, the murder was discovered and Beatrice was put on trial, tortured and finally executed. The Pope, pleading for mercy, refused any pardon. Even at the time, but especially in the 19th century, the Cenci case stirred up emotions and became a symbol of unjust justice, the oppression of women and the self-righteousness of the men who ruled over them. Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote the verse drama The Cenci in 1819, and Stendhal also wrote a corresponding story, Les Cenci. Her portrait, allegedly by Guido Reni, was widely copied and distributed. Below is an engraving from the early 19th century by Giovita Garavaglia based on the painting, which may have served as a model for the cut of the shell. The pendant was created around 1870, originally as a brooch. Later, the pin was removed and the pendant eyelet added. The framing is made of gold-plated silver.

Size & Details

Beatrice Cenci

€ 390.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

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Beatrice Cenci

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