Description
Ring with green chromiferous chalcedony and finely chased, openwork and enameled gold setting, white, red and black enamel. Square bezel set with a high-relief cameo depicting the head of a chubby child with a neck surrounded by a strawberry; ring with protruding fillet and lateral lugs, rounded bezel base adorned with protruding, ridged X-ribs. Cameo: Roman period, partly altered during the Renaissance Mounting: 16th century, circa 1570/80 H. 2.9 cm - Gross weight: 3.6 g (some missing enamel) Chromiferous chalcedony was widely used for jewelry and seals throughout the Roman Empire, only to see its use disappear after the 2nd century. The origin of this mineral is unclear, for although Pliny the Elder described it as originating in India, no deposits have ever been found there. It seems to have originated in Anatolia, present-day Turkey. This is probably a cameo depicting Eros, a widespread theme in Antiquity, as can be seen in many gem collections. It would have been adapted to Renaissance tastes by re-cutting the neck to form a collar to match the fashion of the time worn by children during the third quarter of the 16th century, as shown by the marble bust of a little girl in the Louvre Museum (inv. RF 1634, fig.a). The same museum also holds a ring with a similar but less refined setting, found in the Seine in 1841 (inv. OA 654, fig.b,b'). Works consulted : - R. Gennaioli, Le gemme dei Medici al Museo degli Argenti, Florence, 2007, pp. 355-357 - P. Vittellozzi, Tesori di una collezione privata intagli, cammei, gioielli, objets de vertu, Pérouges, 2017, cat. 131 and 132, p. 183 and 184
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Ring with green chromiferous chalcedony and finely chased, openwork and enameled gold setting, white, red and black enamel. Square bezel set with a high-relief cameo depicting the head of a chubby child with a neck surrounded by a strawberry; ring with protruding fillet and lateral lugs, rounded bezel base adorned with protruding, ridged X-ribs. Cameo: Roman period, partly altered during the Renaissance Mounting: 16th century, circa 1570/80 H. 2.9 cm - Gross weight: 3.6 g (some missing enamel) Chromiferous chalcedony was widely used for jewelry and seals throughout the Roman Empire, only to see its use disappear after the 2nd century. The origin of this mineral is unclear, for although Pliny the Elder described it as originating in India, no deposits have ever been found there. It seems to have originated in Anatolia, present-day Turkey. This is probably a cameo depicting Eros, a widespread theme in Antiquity, as can be seen in many gem collections. It would have been adapted to Renaissance tastes by re-cutting the neck to form a collar to match the fashion of the time worn by children during the third quarter of the 16th century, as shown by the marble bust of a little girl in the Louvre Museum (inv. RF 1634, fig.a). The same museum also holds a ring with a similar but less refined setting, found in the Seine in 1841 (inv. OA 654, fig.b,b'). Works consulted : - R. Gennaioli, Le gemme dei Medici al Museo degli Argenti, Florence, 2007, pp. 355-357 - P. Vittellozzi, Tesori di una collezione privata intagli, cammei, gioielli, objets de vertu, Pérouges, 2017, cat. 131 and 132, p. 183 and 184
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