Nymph and Swan

Cameo by Benedetto Pistrucci Italian
 Mount by the firm of Fortunato Pio Castellani Italian

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 556

Even the most celebrated carvers did not scruple to borrow freely from authoritative sources. Nathaniel Marchant had already treated this composition in an intaglio carved for Lavinia, Countess Spencer (private collection, United Kingdom), but Pistrucci added an original flourish of drapery. One might understandably interpret the subject as Leda and the swan had not Marchant identified it as the nymph in Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso who accepts tablets bearing the names of deceased worthies from a fleet of swans (hence the disklike object proffered by the swan). Castellani’s delicate “archaeological-style” setting perfectly frames the curvilinear design.

Nymph and Swan, Cameo by Benedetto Pistrucci (Italian, 1783–1855, active England), Agate cameo; gold mount with black enamel, Italian, Rome

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Nymph and Swan, Cameo by Benedetto Pistrucci (Italian, 1783–1855, active England), Agate cameo; gold mount with black enamel, Italian, Rome
Nymph and Swan, Cameo by Benedetto Pistrucci (Italian, 1783–1855, active England), Agate cameo; gold mount with black enamel, Italian, Rome

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