16th Century More Jewelry and Watches

Understated and elegant, and yet 600-odd years in the making, these emerald and diamond earrings and cocktail ring are set in rose 9-karat gold and 925 silver and produced using an a...

Cameo with Double Portrait of Cosimo I de Medici and Camella Martelli Cameo, Northern Italy, late 16th century; mount with pin 18th century and later Gold, onyx Weight 3.7 gr.; 14.88 mm. Two-layered onyx cameo (white on translucent pale brown) with jugate heads facing to the right looking upwards. The male head with short curly hair, beard and moustache wears a tunic draped around his neck and shoulders. The female head in the background has her hair tied back. They are cut in the white layer of the stone with translucent pale brown background. The cameo is convex on the reverse and open-set in a pendant with plain gold collet and rounded edges. A long gold pin is attached to the pendant loop and the opposite end has a section of coiled wire Literature: Portraits of Roman Emperors were popular and highly fashionable during the Renaissance period, rulers would often be portrayed like their ancient counterparts, also as a double portrait with spouse, or known as jugate heads. The individual features of the couple portrayed here suggest it could be a double portrait of Cosimo I de Medici (1519-1574) at a slightly older age and his second wife Camilla Martelli, Duchess Consort of Florence (1545-1590) whom he married in 1570. Bust sculptures of Cosimo de Medici in the Galleria Uffizi by Baccio Bandinelli...

BADGE WITH ST. JAMES THE GREAT Northern Spain, 16th century Silver, jet Weight 18.2 grams; dimensions 44 × 43 × 12 mm Round pendant with high-relief image of St. James the Great of Santiago de Compostela carved in jet. The saint is flanked by two pilgrims (their heads defaced); each holds a staff and rosary in his hand. Silver mount with plain flat backplate, corded wire surround and toothed edge as setting. Four pendant loops for sewing onto a hat or cloak. According to the Roman naturalist Pliny, jet, the material of which this pin was made, prevented snakebite and was “thrown up by the sea.” The first quality would certainly have been reassuring for a pilgrim who owned this object and who had to make long journeys over unfamiliar terrain. The second quality made jet an especially fitting material to honor St. James, given that his body arrived in Spain mysteriously, carried there “by the sea” from the Holy Land. Santiago de Compostela was a major center for jet carving from the late Middle Ages, and highly polished jet was a desirable and common material for pilgrimage souvenirs. One even finds scallop shells, the pilgrim’s badge...

Vintage and Antique wrist watch collection. Total 22 watches . All of them in original condition. Leather bends. The watches are functional but ne...

Twenty Five Renaissance Jewels and Works of Art from the collection of the late Arturo Lopez-Willshaw. This is the sale catalogue produced by Sotheb...