Ring with a Renaissance cameo of Christ and the Virgin

A late Renaissance double sided heliotrope cameo of Christ and the Virgin set into a gold ring.

The cameo is Italian, early 17th century.

The gold ring is a size K 1/2 UK / 5.5 US (measured on the leading edge).

The cameo measures 2.3 x 1.8cm.

It was believed that the scarlet flecks in the stone were the blood of Christ, hence its popular use for the subject of Christ throughout the Middle Ages until the 19th century.

The cameo follows a known model which is seen in a number of double sided cameos found in the Museo degli Argenti, Palazzo Pitti, published in R. Gennaioli, Le gemme dei Medici al Museo degli Argenti: Cammei e Intagli nelle collezioni di Palazzo Pitti, Florence, 2007 ,pp. 337-338, nos. 437-439.

A lapis lazuli cameo of the Virgin can be found in the catalogue of The Marlborough Gems, by John Boardman, fig. 383.

Further examples can be found in the collections of the British Museum (registration number: 1867,0507.732), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (accession numbers: 1982.60.393, 39.22.6) and the Hermitage Museum (inventory number: ?-649).