O
ffered for sale here is
a finely carved shell cameo of the Greek goddess of
wisdom Athena, known as Minerva to the Romans. The
image of the goddess depicted here is known as Athena
Parthenos and was created by the famous ancient Greek
sculptor Phidias. The original Statue of Athena
Parthenos was made of ivory and gold and was housed in
the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens. This was the
best known and most famous image of Athena in
antiquity. Approximations of its appearance have been
reproduced repeatedly down through history in bronze,
marble, on gems, and in paintings. It is, in many
ways, the standard by which all other depictions of
Athena are judged.
This
cameo is carved out of shell, a medium I am not
usually interested in. However its condition and the
quality and the authenticity of the depiction of
Athena Parthenos is so good that I have included it
with the other cameos I am selling. The cameo is
approximately 34mm tall by 26mm wide. It is carved in
low relief, as are most shell cameos. However, this
one was carved with an unusual attention to detail for
a shell cameo. The carver of this cameo took pains to
be true to the original Athena Parthenos, obviously
copying images that have come down to us from
antiquity. He has held to the spirit of the original
image if not to an absolute slavish copy of the
original. After all what the original looked like
absolutely is somewhat in question.
The cameo is set in
a solid gold, measuring 38.5mm by 30.5mm. The body and
pin back of the setting tests as 12k solid gold. The
pin catch-closure is marked and tests as 10k. The pin
has a fold down bail to wear it as a pendant as well
as a pin. A safety chain and pin could also be
attached to the pendant bail.
Both the cameo and
its gold mount are in excellent condition. Shell
cameos have a tendency to wear, crack and dry out but
this one is still in surprisingly good condition. The
carving of the cameo is still crisp and shows no
damage. The cameo was carved from a rather thick piece
of shell. This has aided in its preservation; it has
no cracking from drying out. The cameo and pin date to
the late 19th or early 20th
century. Given the quality and the style of the
carving I would place the creation of the cameo in the
late 19th century, the pin may be a bit
later but not much. On the reverse of the cameo
someone has inscribed both "Athena" and
"Minerva." The difficult to read
"Athena" was probably written first, when
the cameo was made, "Minerva" is a later
addition to clarify the identity of the cameo.
This is a very nice,
genuinely antique, shell cameo in a great state of
preservation. It has much in common with stone cameos
in that it is precisely carved, exhibits artistic
sensibility and reproduces a revered image from
antiquity.
NOTE:
Analogous Cameos in the Literature: There are many,
but one of the best is in Engraved Gems of the Romans
by G. Richter # 642
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