- Material: Sardonyx Shell, 15k gold tested, turquoise.
- Size: just over 3 5/8" by over 2", only cameo is 2" by 1 6/8".
- Date and Origin: Circa 1860 Italy.
- Conditions: A few natural shell lines not visble by naked eye, visible when cameo is backlit. The large gold scroll and bale have been added later to the cameo.
Museum quality hard stone cameo depicting the Allegory of the Night. The Goddess Selene is here portrayed with all of her symbols, as the owl holding poppies in its pawns, and poppies in her hair. Moon and star are other two attributes of Selene. This is a cameo of surpassing beauty, carved by an artist. Her face shows serenity and her closed eyes just give you the impression that she’s peacefully sleeping and making lovely dreams. Look at her veil and at its folds, it is just there was a sweet wind who moves it and it seems just real. Even the owl who holds the poppies is amazingly carved. This cameo makes me speechless for the delicacy and the beauty of the carving which is so crisp and fine. The Goddess face is wonderful, her nose, her lips and her chin so perfectly made. Her face is three-dimensional, look how her cheek comes out roundly from the background, her perfect closed eye and her face expression gives a sensation of peace. She's sweetest. Her veil is so wonderfully carved that just seems transparent. This cameo is pure beauty. Looking at her I can really see as she was sleeping because her face expression is so real. A sense of peace and tranquillity comes out from this wonderful cameo, it can be felt immediately when you look at it. A magnificent chiselled frame completes this artwork. A true artwork to collect. This piece is a true beauty, a real artwork. This is another masterly carved cameo for your collection. A very desirable Museum Quality piece.
A bit of History:
Selene, Goddess of the Moon, daughter of Hyperion. her assignment is to bring the moonlight to the humans driving a cart drawn from oxen or from horses that runs after the solar one, in many representations. Generally described like a beautiful woman with pale face that wears long, flowing, white or silver robe and that has on her head a waxing moon and a torch in her hand. In the Greek-Roman mythology tradition the Moon, thanks to the mutability of its aspect that makes it unique between the stars, has been associated to three divinity and tied to three its "events". Full moon, New moon and Waxing moon. Life metaphor (full moon), death (new moon) rebirth (waxing moon). Since time immemorial these three lunar figures have represented the cycle of life involving apparently heterogeneous phenomena like the birth, the death, the fertility, the femininity, the immortality. Selene, (from Selas - Greek) means splendour.
