Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu

A shell cameo brooch, second half of 19th century, carved to depict Aurora (Dawn) in billowing dress, carrying garlands of flowers and leading Apollo, God of the Sun, in his golden chariot drawn by four horses, with winged putto, Twilight, above, bearing a flaming torch, and surrounded by a dancing maidens (the Hours), all bearing to earth the light of the New Day; the cameo gold mounted with scrollwork decoration to the border, closed-back setting, dimensions 8.3 x 6.5cm. £700-£1,000

The image is after Guido Reni, L’Aurora, 1613-14, the ceiling fresco painted for the Casino dell’Aurora adjacent to the Palazzo Pallavicini-Rospiglosi, Rome, and commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese.