Virtuoso shell cameo carving in high relief of a seated Cupid with bow and quiver,his index finger to his lips entreating us to secrecy.c.1840.
Set to an extremely fine 15 carat gold granulated frame.
Bulls mouth shell. 1.75 inches by 1.25inches.
A popular early c19th subject,the seated Cupid is a version of the marble sculpture 'L'amour Menacant'by Étienne-Maurice Falconet, 1757,made for Madame de Pompadour, King Louis XV’s art-loving mistress. Now in the Rijksmuseum,Amsterdam.