Featured Cameo depicting a girl with lilies in her hair fetch a handsome price, why?

Hello again,
Now that I am back, I will keep posting questions...
The below Cameo has been sold in auction for £2,000. The description does not mention that the frame is real gold, does not mention whom is the girl, just lilies in her hair.
Any idea?
Thank you so much.

@Bronwen
@bluumz
@Any Jewelry
@kyratango

 

Very beautiful, Simona. Bronwen has an excellent website where you can probably find the girl. But no doubt she will identify her here for you.

 

Yes, I did write to her in private, she knows its coming , but wanted to share it first with everyone here, something to learn, I suppose.
Xx

 

I did read that cameos were back in fashion, but blimey.

 

While I am not surprised the piece exceeded the very low auction house estimate, I am astounded at the hammer price. Fees were probably around 25%, so it fetched some real money.

You will not find her on my web site because she is not anyone in particular, there is no story to go with her. These ladies laden with flowers are usually regarded as Flora, although I don't know that cutters had any such thing in mind. They fit in well with the art nouveau style.

What I can say that may account for the high price is that there was probably a gamble on the setting being gold, she's very well & elaborately cut, the flowers are a change from the usual roses although something I have seen before. Perhaps there was a bidding war.

I have been saying for at least a couple of years now that the cameo market has become wonky: unexceptional pieces achieve high prices like this one; outstanding ones go underappreciated. This malachite carving of the Genius of Peace Halting the Horses of Mars just sold for substantially less than this 'Flora', despite the high karat gold mount, the unusual stone and uncommon subject:



Go figure.

 

Thank you so much for your response, I think we all learned something from this today.
Kind regards,
Simona

 

If the auction listing included a photo of the back, another thing that could have occurred is bidders spotting a signature overlooked by the auctioneer. It happens. Just saw a Luigi Rosi piece listed with "Roma" & the year noted as being on the back, but no mention of the signature above that, although clear enough in pic.

 

“Under the glassy, cool, translucent wave,/
In twisted braids of lilies knitting/
The loose train of thy amber-dropping hair...”

this us a beautiful cameo! Perhaps it’s Sabrina, and some creative license?

 

We'd expect anyone contemplating dropping that sort of cash on the item in hopes the frame/mount was gold would simply have inquired of the auctioneers in advance to find out if indeed it was gold.

Regardless, it's a stunningly beautiful cameo, and all it ever takes for a crazy-high hammer price is two competing bidders with deep pockets who really like the thing.

 

It's a nice size and perhaps it was a live in person auction where people could see for themselves.

 

Maybe this one fetched a lower price because one of the horse heads is broken off.