Hardstone Cameo Ring With Classical Muse. Italian, 18th Century.

Hardstone Cameo Ring with Classical Muse.

Italian cameo, 18th century; English ring mount, late 19th century.

Measurements
Cameo: 1.8 × 1.3 cm
Ring size: K UK / 5.25 US / 50 EU
Weight: 6.47 grams

Description
An eighteenth-century Italian hardstone cameo carved in two-coloured red and brown agate, depicting a classical muse in right-facing profile. The engraver employs the natural colour strata of the stone to articulate the muse’s features, flowing hair, and drapery with clarity and subtle modelling, reflecting the refined standards of Italian gem engraving of the period. The laurel wreath identifies her as an embodiment of poetic or artistic inspiration.

The cameo is encircled by a border of single-cut diamonds set in platinum, forming a crisp, light-reflective frame that heightens the contrast with the warm-toned agate. The high-carat gold mount, dating to the late nineteenth century, features a pierced, open-backed construction and bifurcated shoulders enriched with classical leaf motifs, aligning it with the neoclassical revival taste prevalent in English jewellery of the time. The union of an eighteenth-century Italian gem engraving with a later English mount reflects a broader nineteenth-century practice of integrating earlier engraved gems into newly conceived settings.