Period: Late 18th century

Provenance: Italy

Dimensions (cameo): 26 mm

Ring size: 7

Weight: 18 gr

The cameo, made of agate, represents Omphale, a character from Greek mythology who, according to some sources, was queen of Lydia after the death of her husband. Omphale is depicted here according to an iconography that has settled in artistic culture over the centuries and which sees her wearing a lion's headdress, since literature tells that the woman made Heracles (or Hercules, in Roman mythology) her prisoner, thus wearing the skin of the Nemean lion that the hero killed during the first effort he had to face. The cameo, mounted on an antique gold setting, has an extremely high quality, derived from the fact that Filippo Rega was a student of the famous engraver Giovanni Pichler. Rega was also a prize winner at the prestigious Accademia di San Luca in Rome, before continuing his career in Naples, where he served the Bourbons and Bonapartes. He was also director of the School of Gem Engraving, in 1808 he became director of the Laboratory of Semi-precious Stones and later worked as director of the royal mint under King Ferdinand II. Period: 1815-1820 ca. Ring size: 7 Top size: 26 mm