Featured CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

Check the solds first, and then scrap with my blessing too. She looks like an apprentice who flunked out did the carving. Or I did!

 

Hahaa that's what I get for trying to quickly finish a post since the spouse decided to hassle me about having dinner.

I thought he might be Cupid, but then I second-guessed myself since there's room for wings or quiver/bow/arrow and the carver didn't include those. Love is a better reason to wear a large cameo though, and he doesn't look specific enough to be someone's actual child. I bet he's got a sculpture he's based on somewhere... that'll take me forever to discover probably!

Oooh you had a hallmarked frame or it was signed?

YES!! And the ones that don't bother to clean lol. I mean, it makes me cuss when they take photos in the dark (or blasted out), in a blur, from space, but I've yet to be wrong when I've taken the chance.

 

Your new cameo is beautiful! I would have gone for that one, too. Lucky that the seller didn't have good pics. Congrats!

 

Amazing carving! I wonder who the sitter was?

 

Was surprised enough to find Jacobs; would be a huge stroke of luck to put a name to the sitter. Wonder if he was one of the Manchester 14. He's large, 4" or more in height. Doesn't look like he was ever mounted in a shadowbox, or some such.

 

He certainly should be mounted and framed now if he wasn't then. I can think of how I"d do it, wire brackets and no glue, and would be sure to put all known info on the back of the mounting. Just in case. That way no one thinks he's junky plastic.

 

I don't know if you've posted him here before, but I did see him in your pinterest collection. He's beautifully carved. The hair and distinct face in particular. So few of them seem to be signed (as usual...) so it's thrilling to see one put to artist!

Thank you! I showed some friends the cameo and the original photos and one said "But....HOW did you know it was ivory?? From this??" Answer: The fine minds here that willing to share knowledge, and staring at sooo many cameos I'd love to own but can't.

 

We went to a thrift store today and this sold lovely Mary/Jesus in a gold filled setting for $3. With the 25% off it was like giving it away.

 

at that price.......nice find !

 

Where I live, they practically give them away.

I picked these up at auction, and I was the only bidder on them. My wife has no issues with them not being set, because she displays them in a cabinet.

 

Nice.....of u post to those on our Cameo thread

 

is the last one Lee ?

& the 2nd..... Colonel Sanders......?

 

I thought this was our cameo thread?

 

The third one is Heracles & Omphale in what is called a jugate composition. It's a favorite of mine. The original is by Brown & is in the Hermitage. This one is mine.

 

it's late ...I'm bushed....thought I was on the finds thread ...... sorry !!!

 

fixed.......... thanks @Bronwen

 

That's a beauty.

I have a question, I've bought some very nice cameos from Italy on ebay that are new. They say they're hand carved. Are they lying? Is there some new sort of laser cut cameo that isn't widely known about, or do they still hand carve these? Because the prices are extremely low for being hand carved.

I wish I knew. He does look like Colonel Sanders.

This was a very nice flea market find. It's not perfect. But, it's still beautiful.

 

if new........ I'd suspect a rotary drill at some point.

 

Despite my quarrels with its identification of cameo subjects, the book Cameos Old & New is a source for info on contemporary cameo production. It says that while hardstone cameos are now frequently ultrasonically cut, shell is still worked mainly by hand, supplemented with a dentist's drill. Good shell cutters can work extremely quickly. Roman cameists of the nineteenth century could do your portrait in a day.