Museum Quality Antique Shell Cameo "Day and Night" Eos Nyx NO DAMAGE

Description: A lovely antique Victorian shell cameo brooch unusually finely carved, depicting Day and Night, undamaged, securely mounted in an unmarked and corded frame which tests just above 10K. But you’re not buying this for its gold value. It’s a world class carving and a magnificent piece of wearable art. The cameo itself measures just under 2½ inches top to bottom. This was a popular motif for early Victorian cameos. They generally found their way to England as gifts (for mothers or sweethearts) brought back by upper class young men taking “The Grand Tour”, a multi-year cultural enrichment and educational journey through Europe, particularly Italy, without which no young British patrician was considered “complete.” Most cameos are carved from Helmet Shell, an African mollusk whose shells came to Italy, where this likely was carved, as ships’ ballast. A museum quality shell cameo brooch depicting the Allegory of Day and Night.The carving is superb, and the piece is undamaged, as you can tell from the lighted-from-the-rear photo. Depicts Eos and Selene, sisters of Elios and daughters of Hyperion and Teia. All the details are beautifully rendered. Eos is the Goddess of the Day (and Dawn) and her sister Selene the Goddess of the Night (and Moon), portrayed together to symbolize the Allegory of Day and Night. Symbols of the Night, moon and star, the veiled head adorned with opium poppy seed pods (Latin: Papaver Somniferum), the Goddess taking sleeping with closed eyes and head down, and the owl, symbol of the night. The symbols of the day, flowers in her hair, the Goddess, wide awake with eyes open and head up, a dove carrying a bunch of flowers. A very popular Victorian subject in a real museum quality cameo. This is an incredible work of art, a very detailed cameo, carved by a true artist. Eos is a figure of Greek mythology. She is the Goddess of the Dawn. She is a beautiful and charitable Goddess. She is the daughter of Hyperion. Hyperion is also the father of Helios (the sun) and of Selene (the moon) Hyperion's name means "The one who precedes the Sun", and probably is related to his role like Helios' or Eos' father, the faint light that precedes the rising of the day. Eos has several sons, among them there is Memnone, killed by Achilles during the siege of Troy. From that day the Goddess of the Dawn inconsolably cries at the loss of her son every morning and her tears form the dew. Homer calls her the "Goddess with the rosy fingers" for the effect that can be seen in the sky at dawn. Selene, Goddess of the Moon,daughter of Hyperion. her assignment is to bring the moonlight to the humans driving a cart drawn by oxen or by horses. Generally described as a beautiful woman with pale face that wears long, flowing, white or silver robe and that has on her head a waxing moon and a torch in her hand. In the Greek-Roman mythology tradition the Moon, thanks to the mutability of its aspect that makes it unique between the stars, has been associated with divinity and tied to three its"events", full moon, new moon and waxing moon. Life metaphor (full moon), death (new moon) rebirth (waxing moon). Since time immemorial these three lunar figures have represented the cycle of life involving apparently heterogeneous phenomena like the birth, the death, the fertility, the femininity, the immortality.Selene, (from Selas-Greek) means splendor.

Price: 1229 USD

Location: Miami Beach, Florida

End Time: 2024-12-26T16:35:35.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD