Posted 7 years ago
SHAMWORCS
(13 items)
This was a fantastic find at Gloucester carboot about twenty years ago, as i got to a sellers table someone had got this brooch in there hand viewing, i glanced across & thought wow..... the person turned it over & there was a price ticket on the back of £3. I can remember thinking, well they won't put it back down on the table.
But thankfully they did, & here it is, the finest quality etruscan revival hardstone cameo brooch/pendant 2" in dia. has been tested for 20ct gold, no marks whatsoever, not sure of country of origin.
ANY IDEA WHO SHE IS ? ATHENA MAYBE ?
Beautiful! It's Victorian - has a tube hinge.
Not Athena. Here are examples of Athena jewelry:
http://jeanjeanvintage.blogspot.nl/2012/05/minervaathena-jewelry.html
Wow, wow and WOW! An absolute beauty in the carving, and such pristine!
3£... and the person put it back on the table... CRAZY! You were very lucky to grab it ;-)))
Confirm it isn't Athena, she is a beautiful classical lady, nobody in particular, as she has no attributes nor emblems for a goddess.
This is the nymph Arethusa. See the coinage of ancient Syracuse. Really great boot treasure!
Woahhh! Great sleuthing, Cameosleuth!!!
Have to love Arethusa again :-)
Have to love boot sales!
Many thanks cam for identification,(knowledge is the greatest gift). i did look at an image of Arethusa but was put off because the fish/dolphin was not present.
A dolphin or 3 would certainly leave no room for doubt. Some cameos of Arethusa do include them; this cutter chose a cleaner composition. The dolphins relate more to Syracuse than to Arethusa herself, who is the nymph of a spring on Ortygia, so omitting them does not eliminate her. Some cameos of Persephone, also based on Syracusan coinage, depict virtually the same figure with the tripartite earrings, except with grain stalks in her hair. Some of the coins also have dolphins, even though they really have nothing at all to do with Demeter's daughter. Evidently Syracuse was quite proud to have been the scene of the famous 'rape' (abduction).