Jewellery and Watches

A late 19th century oval shell cameo brooch, carved to depict The Descent from the Cross after Peter Paul Rubens, in collet mount heightened with ropetwist detail, the reverse with scratched signature, possibly reading ‘J (or S) mouhe’, the gold mount with small pendant fitting, not hallmarked, length 5.3cm. £200-300

This unusual cameo subject is taken from Rubens’ masterpiece The Descent from the Cross, showing Christ’s body being lowered from the Cross, attended by mourners St John, Mary Magdalene, the Virgin Mary, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus and Salome (Mary Cleophas). It is the central panel of the triptych painted in 1612-14, commissioned on 7 September 1611 by the Confraternity of the Arquebusiers. The painting is the second of Rubens’ great altarpieces for the Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp, Belgium, along with The Elevation of the Cross. In 1794 Napoleon removed both paintings and had them sent to the Louvre. After his defeat, they were returned to the Cathedral in 1815, where they remain today.

Copyright by kind permission of the Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp.