A very fine high relief rose chalcedony cameo, attribuited to Giovanni Ambrogio Miseroni. A captive - "The Slave of Love".

End of 16th century A.D.

Cameo : 34 x 37 x 20 mm 25 g

This extremely refined and beautiful jewel is extraordinary for the quality of its composition and execution. Masterfully carved, it represents a chained captive (his bald head indicating that he is of Oriental origin, probably Ottoman or North African). This masterpiece is very close with works by the celebrated hardstone carver Giovanni Ambrogio Miseroni, who worked alongside his brother, the Imperial stone-cutter Ottavio Miseroni. The choice of the stone, the quality of the mirror polishing technique, the facial and the anatomical features of the figure (incised eyes), the composition are all important elements to compare with Miseroni’s works as the Statuette of a Reclining Venus with Cupid in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (inv. no. KK 1730). The way the figures emerge from the stone, flanked by flowing drapery, is similar to the present cameo. The gold mount and chain resemble those from a small scent flask from the same circle. The iconography of the shackled prisoner is evident both in Classical and in Renaissance art. Compare, for example, with Giulio Romano’s Chained prisoners, also shackled at the neckfrom the Palazzo Te in Mantua (circa 1527-1528). However this jewel seems to have a meaning that goes beyond technical virtuosity, fashion for certain subjects or political allegory. An allegory rather referred to carnal love. Perhaps a pledge of love, an intimate message of vigorous passion to wear as a gift and as a bond, unique in its beauty and preciousness.

Parallels: P. Rainer, Splendour and Power: Imperial Treasures from Vienna, exh. cat. Wiener Kunstkammer, Vienna; Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim; Kunstmuseum of Sachsen-Anhalt, Halle; The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, 2011, pp. 198-203, nos 56-57; D. Scarisbrick, Portrait Jewels, London, 2011, p.33

U.K. private collection, London. The lot was sold at Sotheby's and described as "with a paper note inscribed The Slave in rose agate out of the Wertheimer collection, possibly a reference to Emile Wertheimer Collection of Renaissance Jewels sold Sotheby's London 13 July 1953".