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The Goddess of Healing Cameo
Materials: Shell cameo in a frame of chiselled gold Date: The cameo was made circa 1820. The frame dates to ca 1880 while the clasp on the back is a 20th century replacement. There is no pendant bale. Size: 1 15/16 by 1 1/2 inches Origin: Italy Condition: Mint. There is no wear to the high points of the carving. There are no chips, cracks or surface flaws. The frame is undented. This is a splendid Neoclassical representation of Hygieia, the Greek goddess of health and healing. She is a full-length figure, tall, lean and lively. Her head is seen in right-facing profile. As befits her calling, she exudes well being and vitality. Although the cameo dates from an era when the droopy neurasthenic was the feminine ideal, the young woman it depicts is spirited and energetic. With a spring in her step, she almost dances as she passes by. She sports a pair of resplendent wings. Often the wings on cameos appear absurdly frail to bear the deities to whom they are attached, but this fine set looks sturdy enough to waft Hygieia wherever she wishes to go. She does not fly here, however, but strides energetically on the top of Mount Olympus as clouds swirl around her ankles. The goddess is dressed in a girded peplos hanging to her feet in soft folds and a short cloak fastened at the shoulder with a fibula. Her unfettered hair floats out behind her. Her features are lovely: she has a large, expressive eye under a nicely arched eyebrow, a straight nose and a firm chin Her pretty mouth curves into a confident smile. In her right arm she cradles an amphora containing panacea, the universal cure-all. Judging from the heat escaping from the open top of the jar, panacea is not an elixir but a fomentation. In her left hand she carries the caduceus, the wand of her father Asclepius, the founder of medicine. Hygieia was venerated in ancient Greece as the goddess who restored health to the afflicted. Women supplicants at her shrines would chop off their hair and festoon her statues with it as an offering. She is usually depicted with a sacred snake, an ancient symbol of healing. Often, she holds the snake as it drinks from a shallow bowl but here there two serpents, which are coiled on the caduceus. This is a large, attractive brooch. The design is balanced and well proportioned. The cameo is the work of a master hand, delicate and painstaking. Note the intricate carving of the toes, the strands of hair and the exquisite feathering of the wings. The garments are deftly carved, the shell rendered to suggest fine cloth falling in soft folds which flutter with the movement of the girl. The retail value of this cameo is $800.00 |