• Material: Ivory, Wood.
• Size: 13 5/8" by 11". Ivory plaque itself is 8 3/8" by 5 7/8".
• Date and Origin: Circa 1820 probably Dieppe, France.  Wood frame was probably added later.
• Conditions: A small line, about 2/8", on the top of the plaque, probably occured when mounted, otherwise mint.

This is a magnificent highest Museum Quality ivory sculpture scene which depicts Venus emerging from the sea riding on dolphins surrounded by Tritons and Nereids and a cherub. I have not yet found the the original work from whihc this stunning cameo was made. Have you ever seen anything like this amazing scene? I found a similar subject only once as it is a so rare subject, never seen before even not carved on shell. This subject is rarest and in this cameo it was more than masterfully carved. The three dimensionality of the scene makes it real and just gives the impression that all the figures are jumping out of the sea. Venus body is perfect in every detail, feminine and wonderfully sensual, her breast is perfect, she sits on the two dolphins with such a grace. The two dolphins are fantastic, there is a lot of harmony in their movement. The two Tritons are blowing their horns to announce the birth of the Goddess,  their bodies emerge fierce from the sea and shows all the masculine strength  with their muscles perfectly designed and carved, simply wonderful. One of the two Nereids is holding Venus' drapery, her movement is so elegant and full of grace. Her nude body is magnificently carved. The other Nereid is holding a basket of fruits and she too is wonderfully carved. There is a cherub at the bottom, and this is a thing who really is amazing, who is caressing the dolphin, look at his little hand close to the dolphin's head, he seems to be afraid to touch it, just like children do when they see any animal, they are attracted and want to touch it but, at the same time, they are a little afraid of doing it. All the beauty of this world is in this ivory cameo. I'm speechless and breathless looking at it. As mentioned previously for other ivory pieces which I had, French and Germans were masters in art of ivory carving. This is a wonderful example of the French ivory art.


A bit of history:
Venus was a major Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty and fertility, the equivalent of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. Venus was the consort of Vulcan. She was considered the ancestor of the Roman people by way of its legendary founder, Aeneas, and played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths. Venus had no childhood: in every image and each reference she is born adult, nubile, and infinitely desirable. Venus, in many of the late anecdotal myths involving her, is characterized as vain, ill-tempered and easily offended. Though she is one of the few gods of the Greek Pantheon to be actually married, she is frequently unfaithful to her husband. Hephaestus is one of the most even-tempered of the Hellenic deities; in the narrative embedded in the Odyssey Venus seems to prefer Ares, the volatile god of war. She is one of a few characters who played a major part in the original cause of the Trojan War itself: not only did she offer Helen of Sparta to Paris, but the abduction was accomplished when Paris, seeing Helen for the first time, was inflamed with desire to have her—which is Venus' realm. Due to her immense beauty Zeus was frightened that she would be the cause of violence between the other gods. He married her off to Hephaestus, the dour, humourless god of smithing.  Her unhappiness with her marriage caused Aphrodite to seek out companionship from others, most frequently Ares, but also Adonis. Cupid or Eros was son of Venus.