Lovely oval shell cameo carved as four doves drinking water from a bowl.
 
The design is Classical and is based on an ancient floor mosaic found in the villa of the Roman Emperor Hadrian (2nd Century AD). This floor mosaic is known as the Capitoline Doves, but is also referred to as the Doves of Pliny because a description of the mosaic appears in the Roman historian Pliny the Elder's Natural History, completed in 77 AD.
Hadrian's floor mosaic was, in turn, probably based on a mosaic by the master Greek artist Sosus of Pergamon
 
weighs - 11.1g
measures 41mm x 34mm
set in an 18 carat gold later mount
excellent condition
english circa 1820