• Material: Cornelian Shell, 16K gold marked (eagle's head mark), blue and white enamel.
• Size:  2 7/8" by just over 2 1/2", cameo itself is 2 3/8" by 2".
• Date and Origin: Circa 1850/1860 France.
• Conditions: A very few and shortest natural shell lines, only barely visible when cameo is backlit, a couple of smallest losses to the enamel, barely visible by naked eye, mentioned for accuracy, otherwise mint.

A fantastic Museum Quality cameo depicting a more than rare subject, the torture of Mazeppa. This is after a 1826 painting by Horace Vernet (1789 - 1863) titled "Mazeppa and the wolves" now in the Calvet Musee in Avignon (France). There are no words to describe the beauty of this cameo. The carving is three dimensional and the head of the first wolf really junps out of the background. The master carved reproduced the original work in every detail making really something of outstanding and more this cameo is so large that the whole scene is even better rendered. The perfection of the horse while jumping the trunk is absolutely amazing. You can really see the terror in the horse's eye while trying to escape the wolves. Mazeppa body is amazing, it appears as it was sculpted. The proportions are perfect. Look at the details as the ropes that bind him to horse and that are tied even to his wrist and his ankle, and look at the elegance of the movement of the horse it is perfect.This is a real work of art. From all those perfect details you can understand the skill of the carver. You can really feel a real pathos looking at this scene. Look at the black and white pictures to see better all the stunning and gorgeous details. The shell is so polished that I think this cameo was stored for years and never used. Everything in this cameo leaves me speechless and breathless, for the quality of the carving, for the elegance of the subject and for its rarity. A wonderful and massive gold frame richly decorated with blue and white enamel completes this artwork. A finest and unique cameo, a real Museum Quality one. To not to be missed.    

A Bit of History:


Ivan Stepanovych Mazepa  (March 30 1639 – October 2 1709) served as the Hetman of Zaporizhian Host in 1687–1708. It is claimed that he was awarded a title of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire in 1707 for his efforts for the Holy League. The historical events of Mazepa's life have inspired many literary, artistic and musical works. He was famous as a patron of the arts.
Mazepa played an important role in the Battle of Poltava (1709), where after learning that Tsar Peter I intended to relieve him as acting Hetman (military leader) of Zaporizhian Host (a Cossack state) and to replace him with Alexander Menshikov, he deserted his army and sided with King Charles XII of Sweden. The political consequences and interpretation of this desertion have resonated in the national histories both of Russia and of Ukraine.
The Russian Orthodox Church laid an anathema (excommunication) on Mazepa's name in 1708 and refuses to revoke it to this day. Anti-Russian elements in Ukraine from the 18th century onwards were derogatorily referred to as Mazepintsy (Mazepists). The alienation of Mazepa from Ukrainian historiography continued during the Soviet period, but post-1991 in independent Ukraine there have been strong moves to rehabilitate Mazepa's image, although he remains a controversial figure.
Artists like Liszt and Byron, have dedicated musical symphonies and poems to Ivan Mazeppa.
Mazeppa is a narrative poem written by the English romantic poet Lord Byron in 1819. It is based on a popular legend about the early life of Ivan Mazepa (1639–1709), a Ukrainian gentleman who later became Hetman of the Ukrainian Cossacks. According to the poem, the young Mazeppa has a love affair with a Countess Theresa while serving as a page at the Court of King John II Casimir Vasa.
Countess Theresa was married to a much older Count. On discovering the affair, the Count punishes Mazeppa by tying him naked to a wild horse and setting the horse loose. The bulk of the
poem describes the traumatic journey of the hero strapped to the horse.