Jewellery, Watches, Silver and Objects of Vertu

A mid 19th century hardstone cameo brooch, carved to depict the portrait of Beatrice Cenci, within an ornately designed bloomed gold frame, with bead, scrollwork, ropetwist and fruiting vine decoration, fitted case, length 6cm.
£1,000-£1,500

The portrait of Beatrice Cenci, the young woman depicted in the white robes of a Roman sybil, was formerly attributed to Guido Reni, but now considered to be by the artist Ginevra Cantofoli of Bologna, circa 1600, oil on canvas, at the Galeria Nazionale d’Arte Antica, Rome.



Beatrice Cenci, a young Roman noblewoman, was executed for the murder of her father, Count Cenci, in 1599, at the age of just 22. The story of her imprisonment by her father and the years of brutality she suffered leading up to his murder caused shock waves throughout Europe, and proved a continued source of inspiration in both art and literature for centuries to come, including the Romantic poets Shelley and Stendahl.