Antique Medallion With Agate Cameo of the Fides, Pendant Around 1875

Cut into a two-coloured agate we see the bust of a young woman. The finely engraved relief of the stone shows the graceful lady in profile to the left with her hair pinned up and decorated with ivy vines. The sitter is Fides, the personification of loving loyalty. As an attribute, Fides wears a tendril of ivy leaves in her hair. For in the understanding of the time, fidelity was supposed to bind two people together as firmly as ivy climbs a wall and does not let go again. This symbolic language was widespread throughout Europe. For example, a fine example in the medium of painting is Philip Hermogenes Calderon's painting Broken Vows (Tate Britain, 1856). Here the painter depicted a faithful lover in front of a wall overgrown with ivy. The cameo is set in gold and has a little secret. The back is hinged and holds a glazed compartment suitable for holding a curl or photograph. Thus, the personified faithfulness guards a loving keepsake. The piece of jewellery is in very good condition and came to us from the south of Germany. The typical piece of jewellery of the 1870s celebrates loyal love and is thus suitable as a loving gift.

Estimate:$1,673.2

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