Plaque, bracelet plaque

One of a pair of miniature bracelet plaques made of gold. It is enamelled with an en camaieu profile head in an oval frame bordered with white and translucent red enamel over engraved decoration. The woman depicted is a Roman laureate female, possibly a Muse.
The other one of the pair, C1704, shows a contemporary woman facing in the other direction. It is not unusual to find this pairing of the classical and the contemporary in jewellery and sculpture. It is possible that the 18th century recipient of the plaques was named after the Muse and that the figure depicted is a delicate reference to the classical antecedents of her name.