Perhaps the reverse of a jewel, naturalistically enamelled with the story of Diana and Acteon, diameter 3.5cm.
It appears in the 1690 Devonshire Schedule recording an enormous bequest from Elizabeth, Countess of Devonshire to her daughter Anne, Countess of Exeter. In this, appearing under the list of ‘Gold Things’ is: ‘A Round openwork plate of Gold Enamel’d in little the story of Acteon’.
To the Romans, Diana was the goddess of hunting. Acteon was a huntsman who spied upon Diana whilst she bathed. On discovering him, the furious goddess turned Acteon into a stag and set his own hunting dogs to kill him.
