Victorian Maenad Cameo Brooch mid-century Marks: Stamped 9c (gold)

Marks: Stamped 9c (gold)

the pair took a giant leap forward: adapting photo-etching to suite the jewellery medium

It dates from the Victorian period - the latter half of the 19th century - circa 1880

The "dragon" - although there is debate as to which creature

purge the man-eating birds of Lake Stymphalia

Victorian Maenad Cameo Brooch mid-century Marks: Stamped 9c (gold)Maenads*, the female followers of Dionysus, were a popular cameo subject during the 19th century. This exquisite example is carved from a single piece of Bull's Mouth shell, the bust depicted in profile and high relief, utilising the white band of the shell over an orangish brown background. As was the Maenads' typical 19th century depiction, she wears vine leaves and bunches of grapes entwined in her hair, a diaphanous robe draped over one shoulder,