Skip to main content
Video Loading
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 7

Antique Gold Italian Renaissance Cameo Ring

About the Item

RENSAISSANCE CAMEO RING Italy? 16th century in a 20th century setting Gold and sardonyx Weight 6.5 gr.; bezel 16.1 x 16.9 x 7.4 mm.; circumference 50.3 mm.; US size 5½; UK size L In this oblong cameo, the bust of a woman wearing a necklace but otherwise nude stands above a blue ground. While her breast faces forward, her head is rendered in a strict profile and her hands gesture to her right. The minimalist gold setting is modern and dates to the twentieth century. Cameos depicting nude female figures became popular in the court circles of sixteenth-century Italy, where newly-formed princely collections of ancient gems served as models for contemporary hardstone artists. Following ancient practice, the artist responsible for the current cameo has cut into two layers of the multicolor agate, creating a background of milky blue that contrasts with the white flesh of the woman above. The sharp profile of the woman’s face likewise recalls the art of the ancient Romans, who often used the profile view for portraits on coins, medals, and engraved gems. Continuing admiration for all types of cameos has favored their re-mounting after their original settings were lost or fell out of fashion. The current cameo is datable on stylistic grounds to the middle of the sixteenth century; the minimalist setting dates to the twentieth century. Literature For comparisons of the cameo, see the Hashimoto Collection (published in Scarisbrick 2004, 198, 199); actual location unknown (a 16th-century-unmounted cameo showing a woman's bust in profile wearing jewelry, former Harari Collection; published in Boardman and Scarisbrick, 1977, no. 188); the Kunsthistorisches Museum, KK inv. No. XII 174 (Flemish basin with precious stones and cameos; published in Distelberger, 2002, no. 139); and inv. no. K 5572 (Italian sardonyx cameo reproducing four women in profile, from the Emperor Catherine II Collection; published in Kagan, 2000, no. 217/33); for comparable 16th-century imagery in silver niello, see the Victoria and Albert Museum; and Hanns-Ulrich Haedecke Collection, Inv. Nr. NS1 (French pendant with a woman in profile; published in Haedeke, 2000, no. 284).
  • Ring Size:
    5.5 US, Not Resizable
  • Metal:
  • Weight:
    6.5 g
  • Style:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    Cameo: 16th century; Setting: 20th century
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use.
  • Seller Location:
    Chicago, IL
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: R-368.31stDibs: LU2334213274032
More From This SellerView All
  • Renaissance Rose Gold Sardonyx Cameo Ring
    Located in Chicago, IL
    Ring with Renaissance cameo Probably Northern Italy, cameo late 16th-early 17th century; ring: second half 18th century Gold, sardonyx cameo (layered...
    Category

    Antique 16th Century Italian Renaissance Fashion Rings

    Materials

    Agate, Rose Gold

  • Antique Gold and Agate Renaissance Cameo Ring
    Located in Chicago, IL
    RENAISSANCE CAMEO RING Italy, cameo: second half of 16th century in a late 18th century ring Gold, agate , black enamel Weight 6.3 gr.; bezel 18.8 x 16.9 x 6.5 mm.; circumference 58.4 mm.; US size 8¾; UK size R Cameo of a nude female bust...
    Category

    Antique Late 17th Century Italian Renaissance More Rings

    Materials

    Agate, Gold

  • Antique Gold Renaissance Pinky Ring with Two Dogs
    Located in Chicago, IL
    Renaissance Ring Western Europe, likely Italy, mid-16th c. Gold and traces of black and white enamel Bezel 15 x 3 x 4 mm.; circumference 42 mm.; weight 2.7 gr.; US size 2 ¼; UK size ...
    Category

    Antique 16th Century Renaissance Fashion Rings

    Materials

    Gold

  • Antique Renaissance Marriage Portrait Cameo in Gold Setting
    Located in Chicago, IL
    RENAISSANCE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT CAMEO IN MODERN GOLD SETTING Italy (?), 16th-17th century White agate, modern gold setting Weight: 10.8 g.; circumference: 54.4 mm.; size: US 7, UK N ½ Substantial rounded D-section hoop, narrowing at the base supports an oblong collet set with a white agate cameo. The cameo features a female bust behind a male bust in profile facing to the viewer’s left. The man has a curly beard, wears a fillet in his closely cropped hair, and wears a draped toga; the woman is less well defined and wears a palla. Both portraits have flat features. The carving has a metallic quality to its lines which enhances the sheen of the stone. The cameo is in excellent condition; the mount is modern. The Renaissance welcomed a revival in the ancient art of gem carving and cameos achieved renewed popularity. Important patrons, like the Medici, employed artists and goldsmiths to make dozens of beautiful examples that harkened back to antiquity and displayed current fashions. Double portraits of a man and woman, as with this ring, are called marriage portraits. They take their form from cameos of Roman rulers, mythological lovers, and citizen couples. Literature This couple could be a sixteenth-century copy of an ancient gem or it could represent a Renaissnce couple in the guise of a Roman couple. The features do not point to any well-known couples. A double portrait cameo in the Royal Collection (RCIN 65861) provides a nice comparison to this ring and is from the same period. For an ancient example of the double portrait cameo see the Metropolitan Museum’s Germanicus and Agrippina (39.22.18) cameo. Another comparison, see the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris (a 17th-century cameo with the double portrait of a couple in a three-layered agate, published in Babelon, 1897, n. 1019). For general information on Renaissance cameos...
    Category

    Antique 16th Century Renaissance Wedding Rings

    Materials

    Agate, Gold, Yellow Gold

  • Renaissance Cameo Ring of Galba in a Modern Gold Setting
    Located in Chicago, IL
    Renaissance Cameo Of Galba (?) in Modern Gold Setting Europe, 17th (?) century Onyx and gold Weight: 10.2 g.; circumference: 51.8 mm.; size: US 6, UK...
    Category

    Antique 17th Century European Renaissance Cocktail Rings

    Materials

    Onyx, Gold

  • Antique Renaissance Gold Fede Ring
    Located in Chicago, IL
    Fede ring Western Europe, 16th - 17th century Gold Weight 3.8 gr; Circumference 61.64 mm; US size 9 3/4; UK Size T ¼ A delightful, sculpturesque Fede ring conveying love and loyalty Plain gold hoop...
    Category

    Antique 16th Century European Renaissance Engagement Rings

    Materials

    Gold, Yellow Gold

You May Also Like
  • Antique Roman Carnelian Cameo Gold Ring
    Located in New York, NY
    An elegant Roman Carnelian Cameo Ring crafted in 18k yellow gold. Epoca Impero, Early 19th Century. Ring size: US 5.5
    Category

    Antique Early 19th Century Italian Fashion Rings

    Materials

    Carnelian, Gold, Yellow Gold

  • Late Renaissance Agate Cameo Ring Alessandro de' Medici
    Located in Firenze, IT
    Cameo depicting Alessandro de' Medici, known as (IL Moro or 'The Moor'), c. 16th - 17th century, in later gold ring mount, cameo 2.0cm high, ring size 7
    Category

    Antique 16th Century Italian Renaissance Signet Rings

    Materials

    Agate, Gold

  • Antique Victorian Lady Cameo 9 Carat Gold Ring
    Located in London, GB
    Antique Victorian ring featuring a beautiful carved face from a apricot and white shell. The Lady has a a delicate beaded necklace on. The ring is set in 9ct gold ring. Cameo jewellery became very popular in the early 19th century cameos features Roman women. Victorian women...
    Category

    20th Century English Victorian Cocktail Rings

    Materials

    Gold

  • Antique Carved Coral Cameo Yellow Gold Ring
    Located in New York, NY
    A chic yellow gold ring featuring a carved coral cameo of a gentleman’s profile. Circa late nineteenth century. Made in Italy.
    Category

    Antique Late 19th Century Italian Fashion Rings

    Materials

    Coral, Yellow Gold

  • Antique French Chalcedony Cameo Ring
    Located in Firenze, IT
    18Kt gold ring set with a cameo on lavender chalcedony stylizing a profile of a man with a waving beard, the setting on five wires and openwork hearts. Top size is 23mm x 21mm Finger...
    Category

    Antique 1870s French Napoleon III Signet Rings

    Materials

    Chalcedony, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold

  • Antique French Bloodstone Cameo Ring
    Located in Firenze, IT
    18Kt gold ring set with a cameo on bloodstone stylizing an emperor's head with a laurel wreath, the basket with twisted threads. Finger size : 8 Top size is 21mm x 16mm Weight : 7,9 g
    Category

    Antique 1870s French Napoleon III Signet Rings

    Materials

    Agate, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold

Recently Viewed

View All