Featured CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

New dude:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/274342780180

Antique 18ct Gold Carved Signed Cameo Shell Glass Mourning Locket Brooch

"THERE APPEARS TO BE AN INITIAL & NUMBERS ETCHED INTO REVERSE OF CAMEO"




All together now, this is signed by _______.

 

@kyratango You gave me my 42,000th 'like'.

 

Now, THATS how to sign a cameo!

 

Hedging their bets?

 

Hi

Let me first thank the OP for such an incredibly informative post with so much information, stunning!

I recently received from a wonderful cousin, a cameo that was my Grandmothers that will go to my early teen age daughter someday.

It is modest of course but priceless to the family and hoped to get a estimate of the date of creation If it from or before 1920, then it came from my Great Grandmother who came here with her husband as newlyweds from Ireland.
My daughter will be the 4th generation to own this and wonder if might be 5th generation? All of the women who owned it loved it and it was lost once, 45 years ago (clasp slipped open and went missing at a public school and a sweet honest little girl turned it into the office!) found and has extra good karma thanks to the honest little girl. Sadly, we would have had a cameo for her from her maternal Great Grandmother but a burglar stole it years ago, ugh...

Looks like it has an etched S that I never noticed on the back. Any info is helpful about age, materials and how it was made is greatly appreciated. I will make a copy of that info and keep it with the Cameo and include it when I gift it to her.

 

Well, well wellll deserved "like"!!!

 

@Antiquefan better to click "post all as full image" after uploading, so your pics appear like that:

1920/1930!

 

I agree with this estimated date range. The cameo is carved from shell, but I can't remember which type of shell this is likely to be.

 

Any idea of where it was made, forgot to ask that. Thank you for your help!

That is an earing back added by my Mom to prevent it from popping open again.

 

Welcome, antiquefan, to the forum & this thread. And thank you for the compliments. The thread has become rather unwieldy, but can be fun just to scroll through for pix & stop to read where something grabs you. There's a sister thread about cameo signatures that does get into the weeds but also has many photos.

How nice to have something that has been handed down this way. The cameo itself is helmet shell & would have been cut in Italy. The mount may well be white gold & was probably made in the country where you live. I think of these as 'corsage ladies'. They were popular from the late 20s into the 30s. Don't know if you'll be able to see much in these pix of catalogue pages from 1929 & 30:



'Cornelian Cameos' means cut from cornelian (in the US 'carnelian' has become more common) shell, a name in the jewellery trade for helmet shell, due to the similarity of color to the stone. These are not 'hardstone' cameos.

The 'S' was acid etched, but afraid it does not convey anything to me.

The earring clutch is a good idea. I have seen stickpin clutches used for this purpose.

Love your kitties. Siblings?

 

No, trying to indicate there is a glassed in memento compartment on the back.

But c'mon gang. Whose signature is that? We've seen it enough times, including quite recently.

 

Thank you Bronwen
for sharing and taking the tie to share advertising to bring the info to life for me.
I am glad you like the brothers, Theodore and Franklin, we adopted at birth from a rescue home. They have taught us to stay calm and nap through these difficult times.
I will print out the info folks have shared and put it in an envelope for my daughter.
Thanks again!

 

You're welcome. Hope when the time comes your daughter will enjoy having the piece & not think of it as hopelessly outdated & that knowing a bit more about it will enhance her appreciation.

 

Silz/Schmoll, of course!
I thought it was a rhetorical question, LOL.

 

Seller posted this photo to show the chip. What else do you see?

 

A siggie!

 

So did I!.
He gets around a bit doesn't he.

 

Well, as we now know, he gave one away with every purchase.

If you're about to copy that to your blog, IT'S A JOKE!

 

And here's the obverse:




Will post a better photo when I add this Schmoll to my others. For some reason I have mainly ones with this Sll mark on them, not the more common 'Silz'.