 |
La Belle Dame Cameo Material: Shell Date: French First Empire (ca 1795-1810) Origin: Paris Size: 1 - 9/16 by 1 - 1/4 inches Condition: Mint This unframed cameo depicts a left-facing profile bust of a young woman in the high neoclassical style. Her countenance is serene and noble, the eyes large, beautiful and expressive, the chin determined yet feminine. A classically straight nose, which so often gives a forbidding aspect to cameo profiles of this period, is present here but is rescued from sternness by a subtle, lovely curve. The exquisitely-modelled full lips add a hint of sensuality to the face. The carving of the features is masterly, as is that of the hair. The exuberant coiffure, rendered in high relief, is a loose chignon of sausage curls and cascading tendrils, all artfully disarrayed. There is wreath of laurel leaves and small flowers entwined among the ringlets. The lady is dressed in a fitted bodice with a cloak draped softly on the left shoulder. The ruffled edge of an undertunic peeps out along the neckline and a design suggesting cut-work embroidery embellishes the edge of the right sleeve. A necklace of graduated pearls is worn below and parallel to the neckline. The garments are carved with delicacy and attention to fine detail. The carefully-balanced composition, a splendid example of neoclassical elegance, indicates that this piece may well have been carved in the cameo atelier established by Napoleon in the first decade of the 19th century, although one hastens to add that, as it unsigned, this cannot be proven. Certainly, the design and execution are superb, the equal of any of the known cameos from the Napoleonic workshop. This is a museum-quality cameo of surpassing beauty. Its retail value is $850. |