Cameo collection triples pre-sale estimate at Bonhams

London--A collection of rare and historic cameos and intaglios dating back to the 4th century B.C. garnered more than $490,000 in a white-glove sale at Bonhams London Wednesday.

The “Ceres Collection,” comprised of 101 engraved cameo and intaglio rings, initially was expected to sell for about $171,568. Bonhams said that the majority of the rings doubled their estimates, while a number of pieces went for 10 and even 20 times higher than expected. 

As noted, the auction of the Ceres Collection was a white-glove sale, meaning all the lots sold. 

An American family assembled the collection over a 60-year period, from the 1930s to the 1990s, with the pieces ranging in date from the 4th century B.C. to the 19th century. 

The engraved gems depict a broad range of subjects in miniature, including gods and goddesses of the ancient world and portraits of historical figures. All have been mounted into rings to make them wearable pieces of jewelry.

The top lot in the collection was an 18th to 19th century octagonal gold intaglio ring with a bust of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius carved in deep-red garnet, which sold for $51,205.

This was followed closely by an 18th to 19th century intaglio showing the snake-haired Medusa in grey-banded agate, which went for $45,086. Another of the top lots was an ancient Roman onyx cameo fragment from the 1st to 2nd century A.D. showing a Roman lady of high rank carved in profile that sold for $40,994.

Natural pearls also achieved record prices at the Bonhams sale due to their increasing rarity, the auction house said, with a number of pieces in the Fine Jewellery sale also garnering well over their pre-sale estimates.

A single-strand natural saltwater pearl necklace circa 1910, featuring 75 pearls and fastened with a diamond clasp, sold to a buyer on the phone for $318,511.

Two more necklaces were also highlights of the sale: A single-row necklace composed of 70 pearls went for 10 times its initial estimate when it sold for $180,965 while a three-row necklace of natural saltwater pearls quadrupled estimates to sell for $151,496.