Lot 17 Dα

An 18k gold and shell cameo brooch with Venus and Cupid

A thick, round sea snail cameo carved with a nude figure of Venus seated on the ground beside a pair of courting doves accompanied by a small figure of Cupid with a basket of flowers. In a smooth gold setting. Not hallmarked. Diameter 3.5 cm. Weight 26.48 g.
The cameo presumably Sicilian, 18th century, the brooch mountings 19th century.