An agate cameo by G. Pichler, mounted in a gold ring. Leda and swan. The work is signed by the famous engraver Giovanni Pichler (1734-1791), in greek letters "ΠIXΛEP". Zeus, disguised as a mighty swan, is spreading wings in front of Leda (the beautiful daughter of Thestius and Eurythemis), who is naked and partially reclined on a drape. The gem, broken into two parts, is still well blocked in its originary ring (c.1790), and already known among glass casts by the Paoletti manufacturing, has already been published in several occasions for its high historical-artistic value and its authorship, documented since its times. The work, carried out with great artistry and elegance (expressed through the delicate anatomy of Leda's body) was highly appreciated already in its time; it’s mentioned in the Cades casts (63, 115) as "D'invenzione dell'autore". For any insight see: Hermann Rollet, Die drei Meister der Gemmoglyptik. Antonio, Giovanni und Luigi Pichler. Eine biographisch-kunstgeschichtliche Darstellung, Vienna 1874, p. 26 n. 60; George Lippold, Gemmen und Kameen des Altertums und der Neuzeit, Stuttgart (1922), plate 137, n.2; Jürgen Abeler, Vom Siegelring zum Liebesring. Sammlung J. + G. Abeler, Wupertal 1978, fig. 199; Gabriella Tassinari, Giovanni Pichler. Raccolta di impronte di intagli e di cammei del Gabinetto Numismatico e Medagliere delle Raccolte Artistiche del Castello Sforzesco di Milano, Milano 2012, p. 134, note 590: Lucia Pirzio Biroli Stefanelli, L a collezione Paoletti, vol. 2, p. 40 n.205; Gabriella Tassinari, "La figurazione di Leda e il cigno e un cammeo di Giovanni Pichler", in Sibrium, vol. XXVII (2013), pp. 456-531.
intaglio 25 x 19 x 4 mm; ring diam. 17 x 18 mm; gr. 7,55.