Featured CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

Welcome, Lucida, to CA (Cameoholics Anonymous). Grab a cup of coffee & join in.

You are correct that the clasp is 20th century, but everything else about the piece - quality of carving, long pin stem, hinge style - says it was made earlier. From photos provided, replacement looks done very neatly, so may have been changed over to keep the brooch more securely rather than to replace one that snapped off. Clasp replacements are so common, as long as they are not soldered on sloppily, it really does not affect value. What I'm wondering is whether the circled place is just a brace like the others or is a place where a hinged bail has broken off:

The darker areas at the back of the neck look like shadows to me:



However, I am concerned about what look like green specks where I've circled in green and, to a lesser extent, the dark specks circled in blue:


She's a lovely Hera, well carved in 'lava'. This solidified volcanic ash is porous, so stains readily. When the color is this even, it usually indicates it has been dyed. This is a bad combination for getting lava cameos really clean once soiled or discolored. The enlarged photo makes all these little spots much more conspicuous than they would be to the casual observer.

@Hollyblue is our resident jeweller & may have thoughts on the place I've boxed in violet, which looks to me like the stone has partially chipped away & the bezel crimped in to compensate. What metal is it represented as being?

I think it is well above average as lava cameos go, in an unusually pretty setting. Any condition issues seem minor, although I would want clarification from seller if I were considering buying. Then, depending on price & whether I wanted it for myself or for resale, I might well decide it was worth acquiring.

Let us know what you decide.

 

Welcome, @LucidaBlackletter ! I'm mostly an observer on this thread, but do love cameos. Have learned a lot from Bronwen.

 

Hello, Bronwen,
Thank you for your generous and thorough reply; it's very helpful! The metal is described as "silver," with no further information about composition.

You mentioned that the lava might be dyed. In your experience, does cleaning fade or remove the dye?

Lucida

 

Thanks, Jivvy. That does bring out the strokes on the right side more clearly. And leaves me just as perplexed as ever. Seller thought it might be Curlota or Carlota, but I don't see anything that is plausibly an A. Everything after what may well be an L looks like it was gone over twice, with a none too steady hand.

 

You're welcome.

Cleaning of any type, even with plain water, runs the risk of removing dye in an uneven way. The pieces shown in this article were chosen to illustrate other points about lava cameos, but on many you can see the effects of past cleanings. You would want to test any proposed method on the back first.

https://cameotimes.com/index.php/reference/materials-guide?start=3

 

The garnets have the color of rhodolithe/almandine garnets
Lava Cameo, dirt is a great possibility as the age given is correct
The rollover clasp is a replacement, maybe for safety purpose.
The needle extending out is a sing of it's era.

 

Uh, came lately and just saw Bronwen already answered your questions

And... Welcome here, LucidaBlackletter

 

Just to jump on the bandwagon, Greetings and yes that's old. I'm a sucker for lava cameos even though I'm not all that fond of the color of the stone used. The carving is just that good. At the right price, jump on this.

 

Thank you to everyone for your helpful comments and lovely, warm welcome!

 

As promised Bronwen!
Any thoughts welcome

 

Hi, KSW, welcome to our little universe where the gods still walk the earth. As you recognize, yours is not a particularly valuable piece, but must have been quite pretty when new. The setting appears to be brass with the gilt wearing away, as is the paint that was applied to the front. The hinge places it solidly into the 20th century, as does the addition of hoop earrings. Exact age difficult to determine, but probably mid-century.

From the photos, the material is also a little hard to make out, but I think ceramic? The scrapes/scratches to the back suggest the application of carving tools, but the figure looks molded.

She is the goddess Ceres/Demeter. You can read about her here:

https://cameotimes.com/index.php/profiles-1/olympian-gods/ceres-demeter

 

And the pearl necklace, too?

 

That's really interesting,Thankyou As I said, cameos aren't really my thing but I will certainly look at them with more interest now.

 

Hadn't considered it closely, because pearl necklaces on goddesses are such an old tradition, but the double strand necklace is definitely an updated touch.

This silver stater shows Demeter's daughter, Persephone, who is more likely to be bejewelled than her mother, but it gives you an idea of how far back the imagery dates:



Lokris, Lokris Opuntii. Circa 369-338 BC. AR Stater (11.91 gm). Wreathed head of Persephone left / OPONTIWN, Ajax advancing right, nude but for crested helmet, brandishing sword and shield, shield decorated with griffin; L and broken spear below.

 

Interesting -- Thank you!

 

Hi and WELCOME, @LucidaBlackletter, to ANTIQUERS!!! I have to add that @Bronwen was SUCH a great help to me as well, first in getting this particular forum on Cameos going here so all of us interested could learn about them, but along with that, her generosity of her knowledge and sharing it helped me find my perfect cameo.......for me!!!!!

 

Hello, All,
I have a small cameo that was originally set in a brooch that I would like to have re-set as a ring. Does anyone know of an artisan (perhaps working through etsy or a similar venue) that might do this? I'm not sure how to judge a jeweler's suitability for such a job.

 

What is the cameo made of? Cameos of all types really make lousy ring stones - too vulnerable to scratching, chipping & erosion. Brooches are a nuisance to position. If I were having a cameo made over, as much as I love rings, would probably have it done as a pendant. Know not everyone likes to wear necklaces.

The one time I had my jeweller remake a ring, I brought in another ring with a classic setting I like & he modeled the new one from it.

 

Oh, that's a good point! It's shell surrounded by jet, so not terribly hardy. There were originally 2 little matching cameos in the brooch (which I really liked), but one fell out and was lost. I was thinking of having the survivor made into a ring because of its dainty size, but a pendant might be nice, too.