Featured Cameo experts, What do I have here? Large Mythological Cameo

Long time no see! I haven't had a ton of time to post on here for a long time. However, I have found something that I am completely stumped on. I have never seen a cameo like this in person before. It is very large and very detailed. It is a mythological depiction of which I don't know. The frame is 14k to 15k gold. Unfortunately it is quite a bit damaged. The cameo appears to be okay and not damaged.... I believe this to be quite old possibly 1850s. Can anyone help? It measures to 2.85 inches across the longest part. It weighs a massive 60 grams!

 

The rape of someone. @Bronwen will know.

Debora

 

the abduction of Persnipity .....?

 

Yes. Depending on whether you're using Greek or Roman names, The Rape (abduction, think "raptor") of Persephone by Hades or the Rape of Proserpina by Pluto. The story is told in Ovid's Metamorphoses. P. is the daughter of Demeter/Ceres, goddess of crops, harvest, plant life generally. She is out picking flowers with her attendant maidens when she is grabbed by the god of the Underworld. Her mother searches high & low, turning the earth cold & barren by her inattention & grief. Finally, the nymph of a spring, Arethusa, is able to tell her what happened. She complains to her bother Zeus/Jupiter, who brokers a deal whereby P. spends half the year above ground with her mother, leading to spring & summer, and half the year reigning as queen with her husband, when vegetation dies off & the weather turns cold.

An extremely nice piece, she says drooling. It is cut in conch shell, so has more depth than helmet shell would allow. You have her distressed maidens on the right & a couple of cupids leading the way on the left, symbolizing passion is at play. As you note, the cameo looks in fine condition & the mount looks structurally sound. Is there any damage other than loss of enamel, which is, alas, common on such pieces?

All this drama was believed to have occurred on the island of Sicily. Some of the coinage of ancient Syracuse & other cities in the region features Persephone or Arethusa. Persephone was also known as Kore, variously 'maiden' or 'daughter.'

 

Thank you! Yes unfortunately there is a gold ribbon missing on the left side so more damage than just the enamel.... the cameo is securely in place and has no wiggle room. Is this a rare piece? I can only find two other examples both in museums and mine is bigger than those. When was this made? Pre 1850s?

 

Tassie impression 1508. Original by William Brown in 'white cornelian' (chalcedony? burnt cornelian?)

Couldn't find the info on the Brown brothers that used to come up in searches, but this is probably pretty much cribbed from it:

https://www.fellows.co.uk/blog/jewellery/2023/04/04/william-brown/

So the original is 18th - early 19th century; the Tassie impressions first came on the market in the later 18th and turned into quite a craze. Yours is a very faithful copy, so probably the cameist worked from a good impression, not from a copy of a copy of...

I'm hungry & so is my cat. Will think some more later.

 

Very interesting. Thanks