Featured Cameo origin???

I have a Cameo my Mother purchased and gave to me. I’m wondering about it’s origins, and or, value. I know it has several has several cracks, but it’s solid. The pin clasp was updated at some point. It’s in a sterling silver bezel setting, but had no makers/origin/ date marks. My favorite detail is the right wing which is carved almost completely off of the image. It’s beautifully 3 dimensional!
Any ideas on origin/ value would beappreciated
Oh and thanks for the especially fitting info on your link. As I’m sure you’ve guessed my given name is Dawn!
OH! And I posted an album titled Mom’s Cameo for you to peruse.

 

Mom’s Cameo by Eos posted Jun 10, 2021 at 3:40 PM

 

Lovely, Eos (Dawn). I'll tag @Bronwen for you.

 

Dawn PMed me with the same info, but I thought we'd have more fun this way. @Eos have you carefully checked the back for a signature? Sometimes they are scratched in so faintly that they only show up if you get the piece at just the right angle to the light. It reminds me of the work of Giovanni Noto. You can see an example of his signature in this post to the thread CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

Yours, which is Psyche, reminds me of Noto's cameos based on the painting La Vague:



Another name that might be on it is Apa.

So we can see more easily:




I think yours is just exquisite (she says enviously). Do you know when your mother acquired her or any of the details of how it came into her hands? The cameo itself is Italian carved helmet shell; the setting is probably UK or US.

The findings, the fixtures on the back, often give a clue to age. In this case, yours appears to have (tell me if I'm wrong) a clasp design that isn't quite like the one in use now. When you close the pin, isn't the opening where the pin stem goes into the clasp straight across from the hinge, not on the underside? I don't see this style often & am not sure precisely when it was in use. This much consulted article does not take them up: https://www.realorrepro.com/article/Dating-brooch-fasteners

Joolies, anyone know in what part of the 20th these were in use? @Any Jewelry @kyratango @Ownedbybear @evelyb30 [forgive omissions, I spent 4 hours at the dentist today] Also terms Dawn can use to describe the mount? Engraved?

We don't do appraisals, we just do what you can do too, look at the sold listings on eBay, etc., to get an idea of what similar items are selling for. In looking at the latest sold cameos on eBay, ordered with most expensive first, I found this one, which is comparable to yours: https://www.ebay.com/itm/324518912091



Sold for $3999. I can't tell you how much difference that little bit of gold made. (And it looks like it has a silver bezel underneath the gold twisted ribbon.) The cameo market has become all distorted because of the high price of gold. It's bizarre, but what I think I have been seeing is an unset cameo of good quality fetching a higher price than a cameo of comparable quality set in silver. I think yours is so captivating that it will overcome the silver aversion that seems to be out there.

The cracks are cosmetically significant & are bound to affect the price, but again, I think she is so special - I have not seen one like her before - that some people would be willing to overlook them.

I can't think what else to tell you. Hope some of the others will weigh in & not figure they can leave it all to me.

 

@Hollyblue How could I leave you out!

 

Modern replacement possibly 60/70's.The front looks hand engraved.

 

@Bronwen and @Eos, I inverted & enhanced the back of your LOVELY cameo, Dawn, after looking at G. Noto's signature on Bronwen's cameo, but the only real thing I think I found, which you also may have seen is what looks like Initials in/on the bottom right on the back....circled in Blue where the Red arrow is pointing....other than trying to contrast them I did not 'mess' with them as Bronwen knows her signatures, and if it IS one, she might recognize it!!! This Cameo Thread is ALWAYS Fun and Interesting!!!

​

 

After all your work (thank you) I'm afraid that looks like random scratches to me. It was a bit of a long shot, but the cameo is exceptional, so I thought someone might want to put their mark on it. Ah, well.

 

Not to worry about the work!!! I thought it looked like a capital L and another maybe smaller letter conjoined with it.....BWDIK!!!! Was worth a shot!!!

 

Thank you for taking interest!

 

Thank you for your time and effort!

 

Wow, you did so much work! I’m very grateful. I think the first thing I’ll do is examine it at my Wasband’s Lab under a very high powered microscope. ( He’s a Biochemist) I’ve only used 20x loupes in the past and it’s difficult to see in the space between the bezel overlap and the cameo itself…
Thank you again!

 

Thank you for your input!

 

Sweet @Bronwen, I can’t thank you enough for your knowledge, time, effort and efficiency. I was truly lost for 2 decades as to where to begin research on this piece. I’ve only worn it twice. Once to a friend’s wedding in the 1980’s and again, at my own Wedding (1991) prominently displayed at the décolletage of my dress. If I could display it on the wall, backlighted, I would. But, I’ve always worried that the light, and or, heat would further damage the piece. So, she remains in a velvet bag in a jewelry box…
I plan to use your information to start my research, I’m so excited! I can’t wait to share this info with my Mother, who is in her 80’s and can’t recall the antique jeweler she purchased it from in the 1970’s.
I’ll let you know if I figure anything out!
Once again, my gratitude. @Eos

 

I hope your Wasband.....is still an Isband !!!

 

No, we divorced after 16 years, but are great friends. We worked hard early on to make an easy transition for our daughters. They are 28 and 29 now, but we’ve remained close. The term ‘X’ is so negative, so I use Wasband and he calls me his Yesterwife. Maybe one day one of us will remarry and things will change, but for now…. . Cool that you caught that!

 

Language is a pet peeve of mine & also a joy !

I've never understood being great friends with an X....because I don't live that .
Mine broke my heart...& the best we ever managed was civility, & even that came at a cost to my self worth !

So I envy you....

 

I’m sorry. My parents had a horrible divorce and spoke poorly of one another for many years of my childhood. I vowed my girls would not go through that. Who knows, if we hadn’t have had children he may well have been my ‘X’ now. The key element in our relationship was neither of us practice spite or vindictiveness. It’s not in either of our personalities or temperaments. I could easily see how that could happen if the person you loved and trusted betrayed you in some way. I know for me, my strongest basal reactions come from betrayal. Loyalty is a priority for me. To quote Amy Tan: “Must be born this way”
I hope you are healing. Trust is hard, but our legacies are the love we’ve given…

 

I agree with Holly, hand engraved. The clasp could be a decade earlier, that shape was used here in Europe in the 50s. But it is most likely a replacement, so it doesn't date the brooch proper.

I hope your ordeal has brought relief. Take some rest, you deserve it.