J.A. Oliveras, Cameos and enamel diadem ( Diadema in smalto e cammei, J.-A. Oliveras)

In 1800, there was a transition of collective taste towards classical simplicity, rejecting the previous fashion century’s dictates. One of the great example of this look was Napoleon's wife, Empress Joséphine that understood the value of her public image. Choices in her clothes and her jewels were a conscious strategy to evoke the ideals of ancient Greece and Rome, linking it with the current Empire to enhance the prestige of her husband’s regime.

Caroline Bonaparte, the younger sister of Napoleon, lately Queen of Naples was no exception, She played a political role as regent in her husband's absence but also She patronized the excavations in Pompei.

Like her sister in law, she understood the effective associations with Classical symbolism to legitimize power, and therefore her personal collection was full of Italian antiquities and She worn new engraved gems thanks to Italian artists such as Teresa Talani and Filippo Rega, who created for her cameos and intaglios in the classical style.

Engraved gems surged in popularity during this period, enhanced by excavations of ancient sites such as Pompeii and Herculaneum. Many of Greek or Roman origin cameo and intaglio were transported from Italy to France and Napoleon himself chose a number of the finest examples to be mounted in his coronation crown, to emphasize affiliation with past Roman rulers. Napoleon’s interest in the glyptic art was so profound to open a school in Paris for the art of engraving.