Ishtar is the Babylonian Creator Goddess, the source of all life and embodiment of the power of nature. She is the giver of plenty, a lawgiver, a judge, the goddess of time as well as the goddess of both love and war. Her name means “giver of light” and derives from her role as queen of heaven. She is the planet Venus as both morning and evening star, and her girdle is the zodiacal belt. Ishtar descends to the underworld and restores the vegetation god, Tamuz, to life and thus restores fertility to the earth. As she descends she removes a veil at each gate. While she is underground all life on earth is depressed and nothing comes to life. Ishtar is a multifaceted, powerful symbol of a forthright mode of being that is unafraid to venture into the depths of the underworld. She represents the creative feminine, active and strong.
~Created with sterling silver, 14k gold, onyx, amethyst, freshwater pearls and a face carved from mother of pearl.

Most of our hand carved cameo necklaces are custom made to order in your choice of metals and stones. For currently available cameos that are ready for shipment see our "Online Store" page.

Ishtar as shown is $725

This style of jewelry was taught to us by one of our mentors Heyoka Merrifield, a well known spiritual artist and author. It is similar to a style of jewelry that originated in the 15th century French court and was called a Commesso. This style differed from a cameo in that only the face was carved from shell or stone and the design was completed in metals. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has several examples of this early jewelry technique. A unique feature of many our cameos is that we finish them with a complete design on the back to create a reversible necklace. We hand carve our cameo faces from opal, mother of pearl and antique piano key ivory. Most of our Cameo designs depict Goddesses from many early cultures. All of the designs shown can be custom ordered in your choice of metals and stones.