Featured CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

Looks like ivory to me. You would not see the findings fixed directly into the material if it were glass. On the other hand, used to be common with ivory pieces. Ivory can be highly polished & yield large sections that do not show any of the characteristic growth lines. This fellow is a case in point:

 

@Bronwen.....And it just may turn out to be 'henscratch'....I'll keep trying, but not sure I'll get anything better.....dang frustrating!!!!!!!! First is inverted:

​

 

@Bronwen....don't know if this helps....

​

 

Wow! Thanks for trying, Aquitaine. I looked again where you have indicated, and I can't make anything out, but my eyesight is not the best. Let's see what Bronwen says. I can post another photo if necessary.

 

The inscription on this ivory cameo is barely visible with the naked eye, and only if the cameo is tilted just right. But it is an endearing and romantic inscription: "In memory of September 1871". And the maiden has forget-me-nots and lily of the valley in her hair, which in the language of flowers stand for "true love", "fidelity" and "everlasting remembrance" (forget-me-nots) and "return of happiness", "sweetness" and "purity" (lily of the valley).

I like to think that a gentleman gave this cameo to his sweetheart.

 

Sorry gang. I see why Aqui thought there might be writing there, but I'm not seeing anything that resolves into legible script in any language. Not for lack of trying on all our parts.

 

Isn't she sweet? With the hint of a romantic story to go with it. OK to add her to this gang?

https://www.pinterest.com/cameotimescom/ivory-cameos-reliefs/portraits/

This pert miss is mine:



I've also added pix of front & back to my reference file for cameos that have dates. I have an 1870 & an 1872; this is my first from 1871.

 

@Bronwen- sure! I didn't realize you had boards for ivory cameos and female cameo portraits. I have several that would fit in each category. Would you prefer I post them here or PM them to you?

Your boards are beautiful, by the way. So many exquisite cameos. And your cameo is gorgeous!

 

Not mine, though I wish it were so...
THIS an interesting one that I don't see on your Pinterest board.

 

As Book said, we want to see them here first. Also, I think we non-mods cannot attach files to a PM by uploading from own device, although you can copy & paste something from the Internet into a message. So, here, here!

 

I had not seen her before. Is she dead? Getting married? Or is that the same thing? I'll post her if we can decide whether she's a bride or a corpse.

 

Thank you, ma'am. One thing I use the boards for is to put on line cameos that do not fit naturally into the scope of my web site, which is mainly about identifying the subjects on cameos, primarily the mythological.

I used to pretty much pass by portrait cameos, which are overwhelmingly of the gents, not the ladies, then gradually got interested, particularly after acquiring this signed portrait of a woman. It was a family piece, & seller graciously gave me access to family history, so that I have an idea of who the sitter might be. She was my reason for starting a board for portraits; I wanted her on the Internet in case other family were researching their genealogy. The gents came after.

The officer & the maiden have joined the world of Pinterest. The officer gets to do double duty.

 

Internet called it a “death mask“.
LMFAO re: dead and getting married possibly being the same thing!

 

Okey dokey! Here are a couple of my ivory cameos. First one is a a riff on the Doves of Pliny. The second is a lovely Hermes.

 

I wish this was mine, too! What an unusual cameo. It seems to me that she is smiling, which could suggest a bride. Also, if she were a corpse, then she would be lying down and the veil would be falling in folds by her ears, not down by her chin. So I think she is standing, which makes her alive!

 

Very nice, particularly the Hermes. He's unusual too. So many of these, which I'm fairly certain are French, are the maiden type. Can I have him for Pinterest Ivory Mythology?

I get the impression that both pieces have had the metal backs added at a later time. Ivory & jet typically had the findings screwed directly the back of the cameo, as did Vulcanite & similar materials. The findings have a way of pulling out, maybe someone put them in place for good.

 

Giselle once she has become a Wili.

 

I think bride or vestal virgin or some such is more likely than the death mask description that was used!

 

Hi Bronwen, you are welcome to pin anything I post from my collection to your boards or to your website. I am glad that others can see these beautiful mini works of art.