Psyche
Cameo
1820-50 (made)
1820-50 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
The art of engraving gemstones can be traced back to ancient Greece in the 8th century BC and earlier. Techniques passed down to the Egyptians and then to the Romans. There were major revivals of interest in engraved gems in Europe during the Byantine era, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and again in the 18th and 19th centuries. At each stage cameos and intaglios, these skillful carvings on a minute scale, were much prized and collected, sometimes as symbols of power mounted in jewelled settings, sometimes as small objects for private devotion or enjoyment. This cameo, make in Italy between 1820 and 1850, is in the neo-classical style popular in the late 1700s and early 1800s, when taste in the arts echoed the subject matter and style of the Greek and Roman masters. Thousands of gems were made in this style in Italy and brought back by British Grand Tourists, who went there to visit the newly-discovered classical antiquities and archaeological sites. In 2nd century Roman tales, the beautiful maid Psyche was Cupid's lover, who eventually after many trials was united with him in heaven. She came to symbolise the Soul seeking union with Desire, and is often accompanied in images by a butterfly, representing the soul.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | Psyche (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Engraved gemstone |
Brief description | Cameo, oval layered agate, set in gold mount, depicting a bust of Psyche, Italy, about 1820-50 |
Physical description | Vertical oval cameo. White over grey layered agate. Depicting a bust of Psyche facing left. She wears a simple shift with a brooch at the shoulder. Her hair is caught up behind and a band across her brow is decorated with butterfly wings. In a plain gold mount. |
Dimensions |
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Style | |
Credit line | Given by R. C. Lucas |
Object history | Given by the British neo-classical sculptor Richard Cockle Lucas in 1865, together with twenty-two ivory carvings, twelve waxes, sixteen other gems, a marble group and a portrait in plaster. |
Historical context | Engraved gemstones of all dates were widely collected in Italy in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Many were brought back by British Grand Tourists, and important collections were formed. |
Production | Attribution note: Opaque white over translucent grey body colour. This cameo has been previously described as 'onyx', but this term now applies to black or black and white chalcedony/agate only (see Jewellery Studies, vol.7, pp.66-72). J Whalley, May 2009. Set in gold with a copper mount which was intended to slot into an object. |
Subject depicted | |
Summary | The art of engraving gemstones can be traced back to ancient Greece in the 8th century BC and earlier. Techniques passed down to the Egyptians and then to the Romans. There were major revivals of interest in engraved gems in Europe during the Byantine era, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and again in the 18th and 19th centuries. At each stage cameos and intaglios, these skillful carvings on a minute scale, were much prized and collected, sometimes as symbols of power mounted in jewelled settings, sometimes as small objects for private devotion or enjoyment. This cameo, make in Italy between 1820 and 1850, is in the neo-classical style popular in the late 1700s and early 1800s, when taste in the arts echoed the subject matter and style of the Greek and Roman masters. Thousands of gems were made in this style in Italy and brought back by British Grand Tourists, who went there to visit the newly-discovered classical antiquities and archaeological sites. In 2nd century Roman tales, the beautiful maid Psyche was Cupid's lover, who eventually after many trials was united with him in heaven. She came to symbolise the Soul seeking union with Desire, and is often accompanied in images by a butterfly, representing the soul. |
Bibliographic references |
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Collection | |
Accession number | 208-1865 |
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Record created | November 17, 2004 |
Record URL |
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