2 ¼” x 1 7/8” wide x ½” deep.
15.8 grams or 0.51 troy ounces
 
 
This is a rare dark shell cameo, exceptionally well carved. The 18k Frame has the Italian mark used from 1815-1870, but the subject matter was popular at the end of the 18th c., so we are saying c. 1820 but certainly by 1870.
 
 The maker’s mark we can’t make out, the pin and hook are both marked with the guarantee mark.
 
The subject matter is from mythology. Iris goddess of the rainbow carries water from the River Styx to the heavens to put perjurers to sleep and for the oaths of the gods.
The cameo has a pin and two hooks so it can be hung on either a chain or a strand of pearls. The back of the frame shows some lead solder, perhaps he frame originally had a back. The Cameo does not seemed to be signed, except with what looks like a 4.
We have not polished the frame, as we like the old color.

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