LARGE ANTIQUE ITALIAN GOLD SHELL CAMEO BROOCH PENDANT ASSUMPTION of VIRGIN MARY

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LARGE ANTIQUE ITALIAN GOLD SHELL CAMEO BROOCH PENDANT ASSUMPTION of VIRGIN MARY:
$975.00

A fabulous, large antique Italian natural shell cameo; wonderfully hand carved by the renowned cameo artist Lamont to depict the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

Signed \'Lamont\' to the back, it\'s set into a high quality, solid 14 carat gold mount with fleur-de-lys compass points and hingeing pendant bail for wear either as a pendant, or a brooch.

The carving is superbly done, with unusual depth into the shell giving it a particular look of focus on the subject. Mary is borne aloft into the clouds of heaven with many attendants and symbols like an angel with a burning sword, a figure with an ornate box, winged cherubs with quill pen, crown of thorns, and sword that\'s clearly too heavy for them. The passion and exaltation is clear, with typical classical influence and detail that is equally strong throughout the piece just like a renaissance painting. The amount of work that must have gone into this carving staggers the imagination.

It dates from around 1870/80 and isinexcellent, fully wearablecondition throughout, with no loss or damage. There\'s a faint shell line to 11.00 - this is normal and probably has been there for its entire life. The immediate gold surround of the cameo appears to have been adjusted slightly to hold it more securely. It weighs 25.0 grams and measures 3 x 2 ½ inches, excluding the hinged bail. The final photo shows it with a US penny (1 cent) coinfor scale, which measures19mm/ ¾ of an inchdiameter.

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