Shell Cameo after Rubens set in Gold, Netherlands c. 1950

Shell cameos with mythological motifs were mainly created in Italy in the 19th century, especially for travelers on a Grand Tour. This so-called cavalier tour, which was intended to educate and refine young travelers, took them to the ancient monuments and art collections of Rome and Naples. The early tourists brought back small souvenirs from their travels across the Alps, which were intended to tell of the impressions and experiences of the Italian journey. This unusual work from around 1950 shows that this tradition of travel souvenirs made from shells did not end in the 20th century. It reproduces a famous painting by Peter Paul Rubens with the collaboration of Frans Snyders, Christ with the Boy John and Angels, which was created at the beginning of the 17th century. The little boy Jesus is sitting on a cloth and is tenderly touching the cheek of little John with his right hand, who is holding a little lamb, the attribute of the Baptist, with his left hand. To their left is a putto holding the animal under one leg. Between the two boys is another putto. There are numerous versions and variations of this popular motif in different media, which indicates that the subject was particularly popular and frequently reproduced at the time. There are versions of the painting in Berlin, see here, and also in Vienna, see here, in addition to numerous reproductions in the medium of copperplate engraving. In this work, Rubens condensed the old Italian idea of reclining putti in a Christian context into a Baroque image of sensual liveliness. Transferred into the two-tone shell of a seashell, this cameo impressively achieves a fine separation between the cream-colored relief of the pictorial action, the openwork frame and the warm orange tone of the shell's ground. The openwork frame of the shell cameo, which makes it wearable as a brooch, is forged from gold and finely hand-engraved. A beautiful, expressive piece in good condition that came to us from Amsterdam, where it was probably made.

Estimate:£671.04

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