Featured CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

Mystery... a single pearl could have been as big, but I question about all these huge ranks of big pearls worn by nobility, not only by royals...

 

He seems to have had only the one; it does not appear to be a pair. Interesting to see he has a second piercing, with just a little gold ring.

 

New girl in town. Tiny, the cameo is only about 3/4 inch tall. She is based on this sculpture, now in the British Museum. Signed by Luigi Rosi.

 

The listings from this company give a good idea of work currently being done in Italy. I have the list ordered with most expensive first.

 

Hardstone in a gold setting?

 

Yes, exactly that. I also have her big sister:

 

All these cameos make be drool on my keyboard

 

This one can be yours:



It seems to be a loose adaptation of Thorvaldsen's Ages of Love, which in turn takes inspiration from The Seller of Cupids.

 

Some lovely cameos here. Many years ago I had the loveliest cameo pendant I had ever had. It was cracked but I did'nt mind, it was so lovely. It was also signed. A dealer who bought lots of jewellery persuaded me to sell it to him. He was a very good customer. A few years later, I asked him if he regretted selling anything in particuler. "funny you should say that" he said "I always regretted selling that cameo pendant I bought from you" "I always regretted selling it" I said to him. A few years later I saw the name on the cameo I had sold, in an article about an auction. It had been carved by Napoleons favourite cameo carver.

 

Aw, c'mon. You're not allowed to post this tantalizing message without telling us the name of the carver, or at least a little more about the cameo itself. Napoleon, his family and court, as well as anyone who wanted to be fashionable, decked themselves in cameos, and there are many cameo portraits of the man himself, by known and anonymous cutters. The crown he had made for his coronation is studded with cameos. Please tell us a bit more about the cameo you had.

 

It is quite a few years ago now and I have forgotten the name. When I saw a cameo in an auction report, I recognised the name immediately and shouted,, "he carved the cameo I had"

 

Hi Bronwen!
May I ask your expertise opinion on this piece?
Please and thank you!

 

Greetings & welcome. It looks like an interesting & pretty piece. I can't see it as well as I would like. When you get the chance, try taking a couple more photos, front & back, focusing on the cameo itself, taken against a white or buff background. The setting will probably just look black, but the color & detail of the cameo may show better. When there is so much contrast between the different parts, it can be hard to get good photos using only one light source & one background color.

I'm a sucker for anything with acorns, so really like this mount, which is probably solid silver. I'm not able to make out what is stamped into it. What is your best guess?



The cameo itself appears in these photos to be molded, possibly ceramic. Without a better sense of the coloration, details & texture, I am only guessing. A photo of it as it looks when seen edge on may also be informative, as would anything you can tell us in addition to what can be seen, such as texture to the touch & whether or not the weight seems appropriate for the size.

Does the dangle have a set of initials on it? It does not look symmetrical enough to be simply decorative.

My first impression is that it is a well made & attractive piece, although the value may be more in the design & workmanship rather than materials used. There is a Victorian sensibility to it. If it is 20th century, think it would be quite early. Late 19th seems more likely. Is it a pendant only? Or does it also have fittings for wear as a brooch?

 

Thank you Bronwen! After dinner I shall take some different pics and address all of your other suggestions. That stamp is driving me crazy. I'll be back soon.

 

Think this is your cameo?

Another interesting setting, although would be surprised if seller can get asking price. She is the goddess Ceres/Demeter.

Wanted to edit the photo but couldn't. Next.

 

@Bronwen, this is the sister of mine, I wrote you about
Enhanced/rotated pic for you to see better

 

Still not found a booch mount for mine, but it is now in a frame from same era:

 

Thank you for rotating her; I was getting a kink in my neck looking at the original. This is Nike/Victoria, racing off to a battlefield to award the laurels to the victor. Very nicely done.

It always seems cameos come along in clusters, so I have a few new acquisitions. One is the little Rosi Clytie shown above. This is another, a pâte sur pâte cameo, probably French, of Mary Magdalen.

 

Idéal! What did you use behind her?