Gareth Eckley's Pocahontas cameo is presented to Queen Elizabeth II

Richmond, Virginia - May 3rd, 2007

William Miles, chief of the Pamunkey nation, presents the Queen with a replica of the Pocahontas cameo brooch. The original brooch was presented to Pocahontas in London over 400 years ago. It is believed to have been carved with her likeness.

This important occasion was to honor the role of Pocahontas in the very survival of John Smith and his settlement at Jamestown. This ceremony was part of the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown Colony. The first permanent settlement of the British in North America.

Photograph © Tim Graham, Royal Photographer, 2007

The pocahontas cameo brooch

The cameo brooch carved from the original with the likeness of Pocahontas.

The natural layered agate portrait carving is encircled with natural fresh-water seed pearls from Virginia. The brooch pin is made from Palladium.

This cameo brooch is now in Queen Elizabeth's royal collection in Buckingham Palace, London.

Video of cameo presentation to the Queen

The picture links to a Virginian government page of videos of the Queen's visit. When on that page click on Walkabout Part2.

This video shows all of the ceremonial dance performed by the chiefs of the Indian Nations of Virginia. The cameo presentation is in the last minute of footage.

The original Pocahontas cameo brooch

Shown on the right is the original cameo brooch which is believed to have been presented to Pocahontas by King James I and Queen Anne in 1616.

Pocahontas traveled to England in 1616 with her husband John Rolfe and their young son Thomas. Rolfe family legends say this blue onyx cameo brooch was carved with a likeness of Pocahontas and given to her during her stay in London.

The cameo was donated to the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation in 1979 by the Reverend Cary Weisiger III, a direct descendant of Pocahontas. The brooch is displayed in the Jamestown Settlement museum in Virginia.