A Victorian brooch in the Neoclassical style comprised of a bejewelled woman's profile in bas relief, in a graulated surround, in 18k gold. Wièse, Paris.

Made by the French firm of Wièse, who specialized in archeological and gothic revival pieces, during the later part of the nineteenth-century. The distorted edges and red patina give this brooch the appearance of having been excavated after millennia. The red patina was intentionally created by the jeweler by the application of mercury oxide to the surface.

The beautiful lady depicted resembles the nymph Arethusa depicted on Hellenistic coins from the city of Syracuse on the island of Sicily.

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