Featured CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

Ketchup. Put ketchup on the greenies and leave it there for an hour or two. Wipe off. The green uck will go with it. If it's "dead" or inert green I generally leave it alone; "active" green gets cleaned off.

 

There are photos of several variants of one common Czech glass cameo above, at post #671, as well as a French one. And these are Czech, says so on the bottom of the box:


I have not seen a glass cameo I could say with any certainty was Czech other than imaginary pretty lady types, never historical men like my pal Nero:



I've also never seen a Czech piece that uses more than 2 colors of glass. I made some more cautious attempts at cleaning my guy a bit and was relieved to find the blue background is not water soluble paint, as I had feared. Nero looks more like the glass paste cameo of Napoleon at the center of this collection:

http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2018/treasures-l18303/lot.29.html



So I'm arguing France for the cameo, which does not mean the rest of the bracelet hails from there. I couldn't find anything comparable using an assortment of search terms. Didn't know what to call the chain style. Or is it even considered chain? Anything anyone finds that sheds light on time and place of origin will be of great interest. OBB, please add any photos you wish.

 

Believe the cameo to be glass, not ceramic, but probably won't go the ketchup route for fear of tomato stains. Is it just the vinegar that is the grunge remover while the tomato paste holds it in place? I only have some honey mustard. Maybe it would work just as well?

Found this sort of Brass Cleaning for Dummies article that recaps methods that have been recommended here too:

https://jewelrymakingjournal.com/how-to-clean-brass/

Some of the verdigris came off with a moist swab. Now that I feel confident the blue is stable, may go ahead & do the soapy water bit, just as I do for most cameos when they first arrive. Going to have to be very careful about making sure it gets thoroughly dry. Do have a little worry about water getting stuck under the cameo.

 

Now that I have cleaned it off a little, can see the brownish areas are actually reddish. A bit too blue, but background layer may have been meant to look like bloodstone/heliotrope:

 

If in doubt, a white vinegar bath. The gloop just anchors the acid. Bracelet looks like a variant on a snake chain. There's another term, but I've lost it.

 

It topped out at $395, which is absolutely insane. Needless to say, I am not the winner.

 

I started with 'snake chain' but got only ones that look like a snake's belly. Box car? Making it up now.

Should the vinegar be diluted? Think the cameo would be OK, but would I be risking losing even more of the gilding?

 

A wood toothpick is perfect and won’t scratch the metal
And I love all the furious Neros

 

If in doubt, use a Q tip dunked in it and rub away. Vinegar isn't likely to affect gilding. It won't touch glass or stone, either. There's a slight chance it might affect shell, but the way round that is to cover the cameo or whatever with cling film.

 

The problem is that some of the worst is inside little loops of metal where a Q-Tip won't fit. Think there are a few accessible, out of sight places where I can give it a go to see the result.

Vinegar & calcium carbonate is not a happy mix. You could quickly mar shell or coral, even most 'lava', with it. I would never take the chance, with or without cling film. I have enough other methods in my armamentarium (as doctors like to say) to handle most jobs. Sometimes I have to accept that what I thought was grunge in a photo is a stain that cannot be removed without risk. It's rare.

Nero is more of an oddity than anything. If he cannot be made pristine, no museum will be disappointed. Maybe I should send him to France for kyratisation.

 

Be careful with ketchup when cleaning greenies, I would let it sit 1/2 hour, clean it off and see how it looks. You can repeat. Longer then a half hour can damage any plating!

 

I like the bracelet, it's very interesting and unique..
About cleaning, here is what I've found not too long ago (the cleanup formula is at the bottom of the page).. but I don't know if that will work for your cameo: https://chatsworthlady.com/2018/06/03/snakes-on-a-chain-mystery-jewelry-maker/
In my case, it worked pretty well, but the necklace wasn't as sensitive as your cameo.. and I thought it can go any worse than the way it is..

 

I'd certainly not put vinegar near lava, too much porosity. Shell is a bit less vulnerable in many ways: after all, it's used to make mustard and caviar spoons!

 

What an interesting site! Spent a bit of time browsing. Gave me a quick survey of 1930s brass jewellery that will really help me recognize it in future. My bracelet doesn't look like it would be her 'MJM'; similar sensibility though.

Quite a procedure to get the brass cleaned up but sure worked. Nero's presence requires caution. Have decided to start with a good long soak in soapy water in the hope of softening up the crud to reduce the need for more aggressive measures. I don't expect or really want to bring it to very shiny condition.

 

Lava is a pain it the sits-parts. As you say, the porosity creates problems, including soaking up oils. It also allows it to be dyed, which most pieces seem to be. Just splashing water on them can create spots. I have a tiny cameo of Saturn I think is not dyed, a jumble of colors with fault lines between them. He rattled a little in his setting; less after a good soak, so actually swelled a bit. Should probably hydrate him again.




A friend & I debated about whether a cameo should be called 'lava' or 'limestone'; he was saying limestone because the material bubbled when acid was dropped on it. This led me to learn that all of southern Italy is sitting on a massive limestone shield, which Vesuvius punches through. The fine particles compacted into what we call Vesuvian 'lava' when talking cameos no doubt are mostly limestone.

I know mother of pearl is one of the recommended materials for use in handling caviar, and I see little MOP spoons described in some places as being for caviar, in others as being for mustard. Did not come across any that were really the little ladle shape needed to sit in a mustard pot. I would think almost any material would suffer if left too long in mustard, or the mustard would. I'm not enough of a chemist to have a good understanding of the hazards of salty caviar vs. vinegary mustard.

 

To save everyone from having to bring this bracelet to my attention:

 

Yertle the Turtle went crawling onto a costume bracelet?

 

I loved Yertle the Turtle.