Ariel
Brooch
ca. 1840 (made)
ca. 1840 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The carving of cameos from both hardstones and shell was an established Roman speciality. Cameos were often brought home from there by travellers who were doing the Grand Tour (a tour of continental Europe made by wealthy gentlemen, often to complete their education). Designs were copied from ancient gems and from paintings and sculpture. In this case the composition closely resembles a painting of 1826 by the artist Joseph Severn who lived in Rome. The painting is also in the V&A.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Ariel (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Shell cameo set in a gold mount |
| Brief description | Brooch with a cameo of Ariel flying on the back of a bat. England, about 1840; the cameo probably by the studio of Tommaso Saulini (1784-1864). Shell cameo set in gold. Based on an oil painting by Joseph Severn, On the Bat's Back I Do Fly, 1826, in the V&A's collection |
| Physical description | Cameo brooch, gold scrollwork with shell cameo of a naked youth - Ariel - with a large feather in his left hand, on the back of a flying bat. The treatment of the subject, taken from Shakespeare's The Tempest (Act 5, Scene 1), closely resembles a painting by Joseph Severn in the V&A (mus. no. 1410-1869). |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Mrs L. M. Festing |
| Object history | Shell cameo of Ariel on a bat's back, gold scrollin frame. The treatment of the subject, taken from Shakespeare's The Tempest (Act 5, Scene 1), closely resembles a painting by Joseph Severn (1793-1869) in the V&A (Museum no. 1410-1869). Severn, Keats's friend, spent many years in Rome. There is a black glass impression of this cameo, signed T. Saulini, belonging to the Paoletti collection and now in the Museo di Roma (inv. 27.809). (Barberini and de Petra). |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Literary reference | Shakespeare, W, <font -u>The Tempest</font -u>, Act V, scene i. |
| Summary | The carving of cameos from both hardstones and shell was an established Roman speciality. Cameos were often brought home from there by travellers who were doing the Grand Tour (a tour of continental Europe made by wealthy gentlemen, often to complete their education). Designs were copied from ancient gems and from paintings and sculpture. In this case the composition closely resembles a painting of 1826 by the artist Joseph Severn who lived in Rome. The painting is also in the V&A. |
| Associated object | 1410-1869 (Depiction) |
| Bibliographic reference | Barberini, Francesca and Dickmann de Petra, Micaela Tomasso e Luigi Saulini: Incisori di cammei nella Roma dell' Ottocento, Rome, p. 99, cat. 86 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.274-1921 |
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| Record created | January 20, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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