• Material : Cornelian Shell
• Size: 2 3/4" by 2 3/8" including the frame.
• Date and Origin: Circa 1850/1860 France.
• Frame: 15 k gold tested.
• Conditions: Mint.

 
MUSEUM QUALITY SHELL CAMEO DEPICTS THE ALLEGORY OF THE ABUNDANCE, THE SYMBOL IS THE CORNUCOPYA, FULL OF FRUITS AND FLOWERS. THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE CAMEO, THE CARVING IS SUPERB, THE GREEK TEMPLE AND ITS COLUMNS SEEM TO BE REAL, THE CLOTHES OF THE MUSES ARE JUST REAL TOO. THIS IS A RARE SUBJECT AND VERY HARD TO FIND IN THESE MINT CONDITIONS.THE FRAME IS BEAUTIFUL TOO, VERY ELABORATE AND ELEGANT. CAMEO IS IN MINT CONDITIONS, NO CHIPS OR CRACKS OR STRESS LINES,IT SEEMS NEVER WORN . THE CAMEO IS VERY HIGH RELIEFED, AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE PICTURES, WONDERFUL CAMEO, LOOK AT THE DETAILED CARVING, A REAL WORK OF ART.

A bit of history:

Abundance was the personification of fertility , of the fortune and of prosperity. She was the keeper of the Cornucopya. The origin of Cornucopia it's similar in Greek's mythology and in Roman's one. Zeus,having accidentally broken the horn of the goat Amaltea, promised that this would never be emptied of the fruits of his desire. Subsequently,the horn passed to the custody of Abundance who is always figured as a young prosperous woman having a face turned on of alive colors with a Cornucopya full of flowers and fruits.