Antique Shell Cameo With Depiction of the Hebe, England ca. 1850

This brooch shows a finely cut cameo of bicoloured shell on the front. It depicts a scene from classical mythology: we see the youthful Hebe in peaceful coexistence with Zeus, the father of the gods, in the form of an eagle. In an artistic cut, the cameo cutter has captured Hebe as the goddess of youth at her most important task in the heaven of the gods: She is cupbearer to the Olympian gods and responsible for the preparation of food. Here she serves her father Zeus a bowl of the gods' ambrosia and a decanter of nectar. Hebe is dressed in a peblos and Zeus as a mighty eagle approaches in flight to take the offered food. In Homer, nectar and ambrosia appear regularly in the Iliad and the Odyssey as the immortalizing food of the gods. In the course of mythological tradition, Hebe is said to have been replaced in this task after her marriage to Heracles by the Trojan prince Ganymede, who then became cupbearer to the gods. The setting, which looks as if it were woven from branches, holds the cameo in a surrounding frame and makes it wearable as a brooch. A wonderful piece of jewellery and a reminiscence of classical antiquity in one!

Estimate:£671.04

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