Featured CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

That is lovely!. The face at the bottom is a nice touch and what a great clear signature.

 

The profile face at the bottom reminds me of depictions of the man in the Moon, or a jester.

 

I figured it for a Moon face since it's about that shape, and one of the ladies picture has to be Athena. Maybe Luna/Selene is the other one???

 

It's a fanciful, modern composition that doesn't adhere strictly to neoclassical conventions. The one lady is obviously Athena. I would propose Aphrodite for her companion: Love & War.

Athena often wears a 'satyr-faced helmet', that has a visor in the form of a face. Here I think she is meant to have more of a satyr-faced shield, but cutter got carried away, carving a much more detailed visage that really does look like the man in the moon. This is very in keeping with the more fantastical cameos that have come to be produced.

I know Jan Campbell (CameoHeaven) asserts that his pupils signed Noto's name. I can't confirm this, but she knows more about modern cameo production than I do. After looking at a handful of Noto signatures to be found on the Internet, I see they're definitely variable. I like this one for the real thing. It looks to me like it was really signed, not just labeled, if you know what I mean. There are the way the G, N & the T are made. The strong period/full stop after the G, the firm even pressure all through. This was applied with great confidence.

Think I recall reading that Noto signatures that are underlined are not his.

 

Thank you so much @Marie Forjan for the proper "tag" of Bronwen. I thought I had included the @ ... but obviously, didn't.

 

Thanks for mentioning the man in the moon, as I was thinking the same when I first saw it ... but couldn't figure out why it would be there?

 

Thank you @Bronwen for explaining that it really might not depict any "known" pairing (or threesome). I appreciate that you gave your opinion on this piece.

Honestly, I wasn't even sure whether the two figures were both female or one male and one female ... pretty sure that face below belonged to a man, though. That big face looks like it is sticking his tongue out or maybe just popped a cookie into his mouth!

 

I came across an interesting clasp on a cameo while shopping. I wanted to take a picture of it but the seller said "NO". Anyway, the best I can describe it is it looks like the traditional "C" clasp, but has a lever in the back that works a second lever (it reminds me of a lobster clasp in the way it works.) The top of the clasp is marked 14K. The cameo looks like it is from the 1020-1930 range and I would have loved to have posted a picture. Any ideas of what kind of clasp this could be?

 

Take a look at this page and see if you can find it:
https://www.realorrepro.com/article/Dating-brooch-fasteners

 

Sounds like a pre-WWI safety clasp of some sort.

 

I think I know the type of clasp you mean. You snap a tiny lever down to get another tiny lever to come up & secure the pin. I have never seen a specific name for these, other than early safety clasp. The most similar looking one in the article Marie shared with us is illustration 13, which is dated ca. 1900. I think that one is more likely to be the simple (unreliable) version where pushing down the lever brings down the piece that holds the pin. A good way to capture the age is 'Edwardian'.

 

This was found in some type of old plastic drawer organizer in an old plastic bag with a blank piece of thick paper. The bag was folded and stapled. I am just wondering, is it a real Cameo, also, how old does anyone think it is? Could it be worth anything? Of so, how much?

 

Hi Deanna, please can you take a few more photos as that one is a little out of focus. When you add then click ‘full image’ so we can see them full size

 

@Deanna M Blanchard What KSW said + is the back flat or curved inward/concave?

The color is very accurate for shell but I can't tell from your photo if this is carved shell or molded resin. My initial impression is resin. A clear photo taken from the edge showing the line where the figure meets the ground would be helpful.

 

Thank you everyone for excellent info on cameos.

 

Fabulous isn’t it.
Bronwen has spoilt me for any cameos as now I’ve seen what the real deal looks like. I’m not won over by the average pretty lady ones any more!.
Sadly discerning is also more so I admire from afar for the moment

 

But I'm saving you money on the mediocre cameos you might have bought in the olden days.

I have a new one coming I think I bought in part because I really want to see what it looks like clean. First acquisition in quite a while. Of course will share here when she arrives.

 

Some spots of damage, but I wouldn't say no.

 

Ditto. I’m hardly buying at all now because my taste exceeds my budget!

 

Many asking prices are now insane. I'm seeing good, not great, shell cameos with asking prices higher than what I paid for this hardstone cameo signed by Luigi Rosi. The bail is detachable. The marks are French.



It passeth understanding. Some of it is the price of gold.