A fine, two-layer onyx cameo by Girometti. Cupid - winged genie (front); allegorical emblem (back). On the front there is the figure of naked, dancing cupid, intertwined with a fluttering drapery, elegantly lifted up by gusts of wind. The figure is turned to the right, with the head in three-quarters and turned to the left, his left arm lifted up, while the right one is horizontally positioned, having the hand pointed downwards in perspective; the left foot is pointing downwards, while the other is lifted up, backwards. The figure is twisting, caught in a whirling but graceful dance move, and is characterized by a plumpy and pretty face, framed by thick hair. The work is signed GIROMETTI in the field, on the right, close to the border, and has been made in high-relief, showing great artistry and technical competence; it proves to be accurate in the way the pose is structured and, specifically, in the anatomical rendering, even in the smallest details. This cameo is absolutely ascribable to the production of famous glyptic-master Giuseppe Girometti (1780-1851): in the Paoletti repertoire, among the works by Giuseppe Girometti, there is a series of seven glass molds from cameos, showing cupids - winged genies in several poses and with several attributes (Il Genio di Marte; Altro, della Vendemma; Altro, della Caccia; Altro, di Arpocrate, e del Silenzio; Altro di Bacco; Altro di Diana; Altro di Apollo).Those works, which can be found also in the Cades repertoire as "d'Invenzione dell'autore" (invented by the author), are inspired by roman models (e.g. the relieves on the chandelier at the Vatican Museums, Museo Pio Clementino, galleria dei Candelabri; frescoes and stuccoes from Pompei; roman silverware from Campania). For comparisons: L.P.B.Stefanelli, La collezione Paoletti, vol.I, pp. 151-152 nn. 355-361. On the back of the cameo, instead, there is a highly symbolic intaglio, showing an emblem made of a burning torch upon which a quiver and a bow (attributes of Cupid) cross, together with some ribbons; around there are the letters: E - F- B (such letters presumably refer to the owner and the buyer of this fine, neoclassical glyptic piece, which can be referred, in theory, to a member of the Napoleonic court). The emblem, likewise engraved with great technical competence, can be referred to everburning, eternal love. Beginning of the 19th century.
30 x 23 x 8 mm.