Under The Hammer

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Important Jewels —

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ENQUIRIES | Hamish Sharma, Head of Important Jewels 0422 157 497 | hamish.sharma@leonardjoel.com.au

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A Shell Cameo Brooch/Pendant Depicting Dionysious in a 15ct Gold Frame | Sold for $750 A Unique Platinum, Diamond and Sapphire Pendant Necklace, Tiffany & Co. | $300,000-500,000

Under The Hammer

In this feature, we share one of the rare, beautiful and extraordinary pieces to pass through our doors in The Thursday Auction since the last issue.

We were mesmerised by this intricate shell cameo when it came up for auction. Cameo carving is an interesting technique dating back to Ancient Greece in the 3rd Century BC; the raised relief image is revealed by carefully carving a piece of material with a flat plane where two contrasting colours meet, removing all of the top colour except the image.

Conch shells, found 90-100 feet below the water's surface in the Caribbean, the Bahamas and off the coast of East Africa are most commonly used by cameo cutters in Italy - the likely origin of this particular piece. Only a small proportion of shells meet the criteria to be suitable for cameos; they must be flawless with two distinct layered colours.

Cameos often depict Graeco-Roman deities. This particular piece features a portrait of Dionysus, the Greek God of Wine - or Bacchus as adopted by the Romans. We thought him only fitting to feature ahead of the holiday season!

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