Antique Renaissance Revival / Renaissance hardstone cameo, gold and enamel ring. Cameo carved in Italy. Ring very likely also Italian. For age, please see details of the Story, below.
Unisex - Suitable for a man or a woman.
Measurements:
Weight is 7.8 grams. Approximately US size 5.75.
Description :
Fascinating, rare antique ring. The ring is either Renaissance Revival or an original Renaissance piece, made a few hundred years prior to that. See story below.
The mount with a simple gold hoop at the back. Shoulders and hoop immediately behind shoulders in typical Renaissance style with scrolling foliage, bifurcated or branched shoulders around modelled seashells. Enamelled in various bright colors - white, black, red, blue, green. Even more typical of the actual Renaissance era is the treatment of the back of the bezel. It is divided into different areas, each engraved with a geometric or foliate pattern. Remnants of bright blue enamel remain.
Above the shoulders is a gallery composed of wire twist gold in concentric rings. Within is a carved hardstone cameo. The stone in multiple layers, including a background of brown, the main body in an ivory-creamy tone and the upper details in a delicate coral-pink that is absolutely divine. The woman portrayed is in profile, with very richly detailed curling locks. She is most likely a mythological figure.
Quality of the carving is fabulous. Workmanship and design of the ring is beautiful. A historic ring as wearable today as it was in previous centuries.
Marks and Metal:
No marks that we can identify. There are two round indentations on the shank - unknown significance. Electronic tester shows gold to be very high karat. We will guarantee at least 18k.
Condition:
The cameo is in excellent condition. We found no damage of any sort to the cameo. Gold has minor wear commensurate with age. More wear to the delicate and vulnerable enamel. The wear is appropriate to an antique ring that has been worn. Please see enlarged pictures and don't hesitate to ask questions which we will do our best to answer.
THE STORY:
during the Renaissance era (post 1400's), cameo rings emulating the Ancient Etruscans, Greeks and Romans were all the rage. Jewelry at the time copied the Classics so closely, that it was often difficult to differentiate between the ancient and the 'new' Renaissance pieces. This applied particularly to cameos. A few hundred years later, during the mid to late Victorian period, the Renaissance style, with it's wonderfully carved cameos and enameling, came back into vogue and once again, it was often difficult to differentiate the old from the new. Here is a case where either one or both parts of the ring - the mount, the cameo, or both of them, could originate in either era.
We have discussed the age with various antique jewelry experts and not been able to come to a definitive conclusion. This adds to the mystery of the ring and the history lesson it teaches us.
