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Every era has a legend of beauty, but from ancient times to the present, the status of Venus, the symbol of love and beauty, has always been unshakable. She has made beauty a symbol of herself, and since her birth, she has been praised by the world.
Alexandre Cabanel, The Birth of Venus, now in the Louvre
For thousands of years, Venus's beauty has taken on a variety of forms in the hands of artistic masters, and one of these pictures is particularly fascinating. She stood naked on a mussel shell, her long, slightly curly blonde hair brightened by her pale body, and her expression gentle but slightly sad—this was Botticelli's Venus.
Birth of Venus, 1484-1486, Uffizi Gallery
The Venus in the painting was Simoneta Vespucci, the first beauty in Florence at that time, and her beauty and elegance were admired by the Medici family. Unfortunately, Simonetta died at the age of 23 and was quickly forgotten. However, there is a person who has carved his thoughts about her in the depths of his memory, and has been passed down through the ages with a unique artistic beauty.
Simonetta Vespucci in the TV series "The Medici Family"
Botticelli's depiction of Simonetta is a beautiful embodiment comparable to Venus
Is it a hidden love or pure appreciation? Botticelli did not give a definitive answer, but this classical romance is still timeless and evocative hundreds of years later. A neo-Renaissance-style Cameo jewel brought by the fawn today also carries the moving story of the most beautiful Venus in the world.
1, the beauty of a thousand years
In 1820, a statue of Venus with a severed arm was unearthed on the Greek island of Milos. It was created between 130 and 100 BC and buried underground for nearly two thousand years, and its beauty remains the same. The delicate marble carved female body takes people through time and appreciates the glorious artistic achievements of Europe in the classical era.
Cameo is an excellent example of jewelry art of this period. As early as the fifth century BC, this type of relief jewelry began to prevail, and the princes and nobles of ancient Rome often proudly wore the Cameo, and the palm-sized reliefs proclaimed their eminence.
Four-tiered agate reliefs/Cameo relief jewels inscribed with profiles of the Roman Emperor Augustus can be worn throughout the body
Cameo is usually carved from gemstones of more than two colors, such as agate, chalcedony, crystal, etc. On Cameo jewelry carved from gemstones with layers of natural colors, the upper layer is the color of the figure, and the lower layer is the background.
Cameo had to create layers of natural colors from the whole stone, which was extremely demanding on the craftsman's carving
Made in the first century BC, Cameo carved an ancient Roman prince, the carving itself is 3.6 centimeters long, and was sold at Christie's for 350,000 US dollars (about 2.47 million yuan).
In addition to the myth of kings, on Cameo, myth is also an eternal theme. The ancients believed that wearing different gods on their bodies would bless them. Wearing a Cameo jewel engraved with Venus on the body is presumably more able to highlight the beauty of female virtue.
A Vernas-themed Cameo relief from the collection of the Medusa Cameeo/V&A Museum in the First Century BC
The popularity of Cameo's jewelry in Italy spanned the entire Roman period and the long Middle Ages, and to the Renaissance era, which focused on self and humanistic spirit, the nobles used Cameo with various colored treasures and various colors of enamel, which was more pearly and gorgeous at a glance. And hundreds of years from now, this magnificence will leave the Apennine Peninsula and create a whirlwind of fashion throughout Europe.
Renaissance Cameo jewelry became more ornate
2, 18th and 19th century classical trends
In the second half of the 18th century, when Venus on the island of Milos had not yet seen the light of day, with the archaeological discoveries of Pompeii and the grand travels of the children of European aristocrats, Cameo jewelry was revived. On Cameo's jewelry, the delicate gentleness and elegant imperial atmosphere coexisted, and won the favor of many princes and nobles.
Portrait of Madame de Pompadour / Carmeo bracelet for Queen Mary by Mellerio, France's top jewelry workshop
As early as the French court in the time of Louis XV, Madame de Pompadour interpreted the exquisite elegance of the Rococo style with Cameo jewelry. By the late 18th and early 19th centuries, neoclassicism was in full swing, and Napoleon, crowned emperor, believed that Cameo, who originated in the classical era, represented the beauty of order and ideals, which fit perfectly with his vision of empire.
Napoleon's sister Princess Polina/Empress Josephine
On the crown tailored by Shangmei for Empress Josephine, the Cameo relief became the main element. The crown is now treasured by the Swedish royal family, bearing witness to the grand moments of the queen and princesses.
The crown, inlaid with Cameo's reliefs, worn by Empress Josephine, now belongs to the Swedish royal family
Victorian British high society was fascinated by sublime jewelry. In London in the second half of the 19th century, a large number of jewelry workshops famous for the neo-Renaissance style emerged, of which Castellani and Carlo Giuliano were directly from Italy, creating a variety of gem colors, with the brilliant enthusiasm of Southern Europe.
Stills from the British TV series "Queen Victoria", the various Cameo brooches on the chest are particularly eye-catching
Cameo brooch pendant made in England at the end of the 19th century, produced by Castellani on the left and Carlo Giuliano on the right
3. When Opal meets Cameo
Among the many gemstones, cameo-relief jewelry made of natural opal stone is extremely rare and unknown until the 19th century. Limited by the cutting process, opalite is usually rounded. Opal stone itself is fragile and difficult to predict, how to make the natural opal color effect combined with the carved form, is a great test of the patience and skill of jewelers.
The fragile nature and dazzling color of natural opal stones add a lot of difficulty to the Cameo reliefs.
The German relief sculptor William Schmidt, who settled in London, was the master of this craft. He began training in the art of sculpture by Cameo at the age of 15, most notably in the carving of Opal Cameo.
A piece of natural Opal-Carmeo jewelry in the British Museum's collection, created by artisan William Schmidt.
Schmidt invented a novel technique, carving is not all using opal stone, but covering the surface of the bedrock, carving on the bedrock and the back, and striving for a perfect display of artistry. His works are delicate and exquisite, and are listed in the collections of the Natural History Museum in London, the British Museum, and the Fitzwilliam Museum at cambridge university.
Made in 1890, this Cameo brooch/pendant, by William Schmidt, features a natural opal carved into venus as the cameo center stone, surrounded by multi-colored gemstones, and the romantic atmosphere recalls the elegance of thousands of years on the European continent, making it a neo-Renaissance jewelry that balances craftsmanship and artistry.
Natural opal stone exudes a sparkling charm of color, from different angles to appreciate the observation, you can see the multicolored light color displayed in the goddess's hair, cheeks, neck, such a rich layer of beauty, so that the image of Venus more three-dimensional and full, but also the beautiful meaning of the lady who wears this collection.
This opal stone Cameo jewelry is beautiful and exquisite, exquisitely detailed, worn on the brim of a lady's hat, by the side of the dress, around the neck and other places, can accompany the beauty through the important moments of life, calmly cope with the needs of various occasions, has a high collection value.