Cameo of a lady

2nd half 16th cent.

Mount: English

Joseph Smith, Venice; from whom acquired by George III in 1762

Cameo of a bust of a young lady, in profile to the left. She wears an elaborate gown with a high collar, strings of pearls hang around her neck and her hair is intricately plaited.

There has been much academic debate regarding the identity of the sitter but, to date, the cameo remains unidentified. It was probably derived from a North Italian bronze medal of the third quarter of the sixteenth century, a date which corresponds with the costume depicted. ...