Attributed to Ottavio Miseroni (1567-1624) and Jan Vermeyen (1559-1606), Bohemian, Prague, circa 1600

Overall the condition of the cameo is good. There is some wear and dirt to the surface consistent with age. There are a few small naturally occurring stable fissures to the surface including under the feet and to the top half of the reverse. There are losses to the enamel on the snake, particularly just above the coil. There is a small chip to the proper left side of the terrasse on which she stands. A trapezoid has been scratched into the reverse. The condition of the frame is good. It is stamped with a modern maker's mark and hallmarked 750 for 18 karats.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Ottavio was a scion of the famed Miseroni family of craftsmen. He transferred the Miseroni workshop from Milan to Prague in 1588 at the invitation of Emperor Rudolf II. It may have been Ottavio's skill as a cameo carver which brought him to the attention of the emperor, as the artist carved his patron's portrait in one of his first securely attributed works circa 1590.

The present cameo can be compared to a signed work by Ottavio Miseroni – his Kneeling Mary Magdalen in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, carved in the round from jasper. The oval face, delicate gestures and looping folds of drapery are characteristic of both pieces.

Whilst Ottavio Miseroni was best known for his portraits and religious subjects, he and his workshop also treated classical themes lending them a delicate sensuality as visible in his Venus and Cupid, illustrated by Kris, fig 613. The rounded forms of that nude are echoed here as the masterful carver reveals the body in the luminous pink tones of his material, leaving the warm yellow tones to tint the hair and background.

The gold asp, wound round Cleopatra's wrist, is enamelled in blue and white. This is most likely to be the work of the Flemish enameller Jan Vermeyen. The two craftsmen often collaborated and their joint works include a chalcedony bowl carved by Ottavio and mounted by Vermeyen in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Around the bowl's handles curl two snakes, enamelled in blue and white, which can be compared to the snake in the present cameo.  Another cameo attributed to Ottavio Miseroni depicting Cleopatra with a similar blue and white enamelled asp is in the Albion Art Collection.

RELATED LITERATURE
E. Kris, Renaissance Kleinkunst in Italien, Leipzig, figs. 611 & 613, p. 182; J Schultze, Prag um 1600, Essen, 1988, cat. 343; D. Scarisbrick, The Art of Gem Engraving, Hakone, 2008, no. 242, p. 353