Exquisite and delicate French early c19th cameo bracelet c.1805.
18 carat gold,cowrie cameos,pearls and blue glass beads.
This piece of true Neoclassical jewellery is of a scale that is hard to appreciate in photographs,the intricate nature of the milled and beaded 18 carat gold mounts and links are a tour-de-force of the goldsmith's art in miniature form. The white and pink shell cameos are cowrie,often used in this period. The fashionable First Empire ladies heads wearing diadems recalls the new nobility who attended the Coronation of Emperor Napoleon I and Empress Josephine in 1804.,as can be seen in the famous painting by Jacques-Louis David 1808. The clasp is marked with a rooster's head facing left for 1798-1809.
6 inches long.