A fine, double-layer agate cameo. Zephyr and Psyche. The maiden, with reclined face and a serene expression, is carried to the sky by young Zephyr, helped by three cupids. The same scene, but with a few variants, is originally mentioned in the Paoletti cast repertoire as "Venere rapita dai Zeffiri": it's the intaglio by the famous engraver Giovanni Beltrami (1770-1854) for Count G.B. Sommariva (1760-1826), from the painting by P.P.Prudhon, Psyché enlevée par les Zéphirs, 1808, Paris, Louvre. For comparisons: L.P.B. Stefanelli, La collezione Paoletti, vol. I, p. 220 n.221. Comparing the unsigned agate cameo with the intaglio by Beltrami, having the same subject and inspiration, we can notice several similarities, and very convincing either, between the two pieces: the more or less identical pose and composition of the figures, the anatomical details and the physiognomy of the faces (see Zephyr's face, identical and made with competence and expressiveness in both specimens), the way the drapery (lifted in the air) is depicted, the conception of the background. The agate cameo has been carried out with great artistry and technical competence, and we signal, other than the difficulty in engraving this totality of five flying figures, the extraordinary depiction of Psyche's body, the drapery (lifted up by gusts of wind), the landscape. A specific attention has been paid to the naturalistic texture of the rocky landscape in the background, and at the bottom, of the meadow and the soft clouds. A specimen of a remarkable quality, characterized by an interesting research of expressiveness in the figures, very close to Beltrami's. To be mentioned, a small restoration intervention (20th century) on Psyche's knee. 19th century.
32 x 42 x 7 mm.