Italian 800 Silver Filigree Hardstone Cameo Brooch Pendant, Classical Male Portrait in Banded Agate, Continental Silver Filigree Frame, Victorian-Edwardian, with Later Chain

800 silver. Hardstone. Filigree. The face has been carved once and worn for a century.

An Italian 800 silver filigree cameo brooch pendant: an oval hardstone cameo in a warm amber-brown banded agate, the carved subject a classical male portrait in profile facing right, the hair dressed in loose waves and curls in the Greco-Roman manner, the relief deep and the carving confident. The cameo is set into a bezel within a frame of fine silver filigree wirework: individual silver wires twisted and shaped into dense scrolls and terminal spirals running around the full oval circumference, the oxidation in the recesses giving the wirework depth and shadow.

The reverse carries a full-length bar pin with a C-catch, allowing wear as a brooch. A small soldered chain loop to the left side of the frame allows pendant wear. The 800 silver purity mark is struck to the C-catch clasp — faint but legible — consistent with Italian continental silver marking of the Victorian and Edwardian periods. Italian 800 silver filigree cameo work of this form was the dominant export jewellery type from southern Italy throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

A later silver-tone cable chain with lobster clasp is included, not original to the piece but serviceable for pendant wear.

The Particulars:

• Type: Brooch/pendant, dual-function
• Frame: Italian 800 silver filigree wirework; scrolled and spiral decoration; oxidised silver throughout
• Cameo: Hardstone, likely banded agate; carved classical male portrait in profile; amber-brown figure on cream-ivory ground; deep relief carving
• Mark: 800 silver purity mark to C-catch clasp; faint; consistent with Italian continental silver marking
• Fittings: Full-length bar pin with C-catch to reverse; soldered chain loop for pendant wear
• Chain: Later silver-tone cable chain with lobster clasp included; not original
• Condition: Good to very good. Filigree frame intact; cameo undamaged; pin and catch functional; oxidation in filigree recesses consistent with age. Please review all photos carefully before purchasing.
• Origin: Italian, continental European, Victorian-Edwardian period

The Romans carved this face first. Someone in Italy put it in silver wire a hundred years ago. Now it is here.

Arrives carefully wrapped as a vault relic.