Cameo of a half-figure of Anne, Princess Royal (1709-59), in three-quarter profile to the right. She wears a low-cut court dress with a robe hanging from her shoulders. Her hair is swept back and falls in ringlets at the back. Set within a raised border in the white layer.

The majority of the cameos listed in the inventories of the Kensington closet were either antique or historic portraits, and many of them were unmounted. However, at least one contemporary portrait was created, probably for the Queen, although no specific note of it is made in the inventories. The source appears to have been a miniature by Zincke (RCIN 421797), one of the group commissioned by George II in 1730, and thought to be painted ad vivum. Two smaller versions of the same miniature are also in the Royal Collection. Unusually Zincke’s image was not published and it may be that the gem-cutter had access to one of the miniatures. This suggests that the cameo was a direct royal commission. Unlike most of Queen Caroline’s gems this example has been elaborately set in a jewelled mount for wearing, again suggesting a more personal involvement. It is possible that the work was commissioned at the time of the Princess’s marriage to William IV of Orange, in 1734.

Text adapted from The First Georgians: Art and Monarchy 1714 - 1760, London, 2014