Rectangular box in red porphyry with plain gold mounts and earlier Régence thumbpiece formed of scrolls framing a male mask, the cover set with an agate cameo of Beatrice Cenci after Guido Reni
3⁵⁄₈ in. (92 mm.) long

Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.

Conditions of Sale
FAQs
This lot is offered by Christie Manson & Woods Ltd

Brought to you by

Lot Essay

Beatrice Cenci (1577-1599) was born to a Roman noble family and fatefully conspired with her stepmother to murder her malicious and lecherous father. Her subsequent execution after a sensational trial made her one of the most beloved tragic heroines of Roman history throughout the centuries, ultimately becoming a popular subject of poems, dramas and novels but also for visual arts such as micromosaics, enamel plaques and cameos. The cameo set on the cover of this snuff-box is after her portrait dated circa 1600 attributed to Guido Reni (1575-1642) held in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica in Palazzo Barberini in Rome.