LARGE IMPERIAL ROMAN CASE 1st HALF OF THE 1st CENTURY, MADE - Lot 130

LARGE IMPERIAL ROMAN CASE 1st HALF OF THE 1st CENTURY, MADE BY ADRIEN-JEAN-MAXIMILIEN VACHETTE (1753-1839) Large imperial cameo in five-layer sardonyx depicting, within a molded oval border, the portrait of Emperor Claudius in profile to the left. He is laurelled and wearing a scaly aegis adorned with a Medusa mask in profile. The laurel wreath is tied at the back of the head with a ribbon, the ends of which fall to the back of the neck. A snake with a brown head detaches itself from the aegis, forming a loop. All volumes and details are rendered with great finesse, making the most of the multicolored properties of the gem, of exceptional size and quality, typical of the imperial production of the Julio-Claudian period. Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (August 1, 10 BC - October 13, 54) was the fourth Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Born in Lugdunum in Gaul (now Lyon, France), son of Drusus and Antonia Minor, he was the first Roman emperor to be born outside Italy. He is said to have suffered from some form of disability, and his family virtually excluded him from public office until his consulship alongside his nephew Caligula in 37. This infirmity may have saved him from the fate reserved for many other Roman nobles during the purges under the reigns of Tiberius and Caligula, as he survived to become emperor after the latter's assassination. Nevertheless, Claudius proved to be an able administrator and a great promoter of public works. His reign was marked by the expansion of the empire, notably with the conquest of Britain in 43. Rectangular mounting in yellow gold with high-relief applied decoration of finely chased floral scrolls on a densely amatized background, the cameo is held by six bird heads and underlined by a frieze of foliage, the whole framed by molded borders; on the reverse, the cameo is held by six palmettes and underlined by a fine dotted line. Marked by Adrien-Jean-Maximilien VACHETTE (1753-1839), partly covered by a reworking mark by Alexandre-Jean-Marie LEFERRE, this leads us to the hypothesis that the work, unfinished by the master at the time of his death in 1839, may have been entrusted by his widow to the former apprentice of his workshop, who in turn died in 1841. Adrien-Jean-Maximilien Vachette was an esteemed designer throughout his long career, able to adapt to the trends of many regimes. A leading Parisian silversmith and chaser, he distinguished himself at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries by his erudite taste for Antiquity, particularly in the mounting and enhancement of Greco-Roman cameos. Supplier to Napoleon Bonaparte, he contributed to the rediscovery and diffusion of the neoclassical style, notably through objects incorporating ancient engraved stones. Cameo from the reign of Emperor Claudius, circa 41 - 54. Dimensions: H 6.2; W 5.7; Thickness approx. 0.5 cm Probably made around 1840. Hexagonal guarantee hallmark, Greek doctor's head, Paris (1838-1919). Eagle head hallmark (from 1838). Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.8 cm. Gross weight with cameo: 141.2 g Comparable works: A very similar mounting containing a cameo representing a Virgin and Child, from the Byzantine period, once owned by Jean-Jacques Régis de Cambacérès (1753-1824), is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, under inventory no. 2007.445. Provenance : - Collection of Baron Alfred Octave ROGER de SIVRY, (1806-1874), son of the collector Salomon Louis ROGER (1765-1841), a Geneva-born banker who became a baron under the Empire in 1810. The cameo and its mounting are reproduced in the after-death sale of Mme la Baronne ROGER de SIVRY. Born in Switzerland, Salomon Louis Roger and his brother Daniel Roger, under the name Roger Frères, were members of the twenty "négociants réunis", a group of financiers who supported Napoleon Bonaparte's rise to power by helping to stabilize the state's economy and finance its armies. As part of the imperial elite, they were awarded the title of Baron in 1809 and 1810. - According to a handwritten note found on a copy of the Roger de Sivry sale catalog: "This portrait of Claude is by Denon, one of the cameos that were a 'gift' from Pius VI to Bonaparte after the Treaty of Tolentino in 1797. Napoleon sometimes gave cameos to close friends and family. This very fine cameo was withdrawn from sale in 1904, as a [illegible] piece to be preserved."