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Fairy Cameo Size: 1-9/16 by 1-3/16 inches Materials: Shell cameo in a silver frame. The frame has both a bale and a clasp and can be worn as either a pendant or a brooch. Date: ca 1910 - 1920 Origin: France Condition: Mint. It appears that the cameo was never worn and seldomed handled. There are no chips or cracks and no wearing of the high points of the carving. Description: This is a cheerful scene of a fairy sitting on a bank of fleecy white clouds. The fairy, seen full figure in right-facing profile, is nude. The fairy has a merry face and thick, wavy hair cropped short. Diaphanous wings sprout from the shoulders. The wings are adroitly carved with remarkably delicate, intricate and precise feathers. Garlands of tiny flowers, perhaps orange blossoms, are entwined around the figure. The fairy holds a goblet and a jug is balanced on a nearby cloud. The scene is full of sensual delights, as the fairy sniffs the scent of the blossoms while holding a goblet of fairy nectar. The surface is beautifully finished; the creamy expanse of satiny flesh gleams. Here and there, the carver has left in the merest suggestion of the top layer of shell to impart a rosy glow to the fairy's skin. It is an enchantingly pretty cameo, superbly carved. It would sell at retail for $1,000.00. |