Elegant Neoclassical hardstone cameo ring of Eros as Thanatos,the Winged Angel of Death. c.1820
The angel with the downturned torch had a powerful influence on funerary art from the late c18th and can be seen in monuments by the major artists Bertel Thorvaldsen and Antonio Canova.
This cameo is after the figure to the left on Canova's incredible monument to the Stuart Pretenders in St.Peter's Basilica in Rome 1817-1819.
Pretty speckled pink agate,later gold ring setting.
Cameo 1 inch long.Size 7.5.