Featured Antinous Cameo, cherry amber ???

Hello again,
I would like to share this lovely cameo and to ask if perhaps anyone recognise the material is made of.
It feels very light, it's concave, the layers are so well planed as the light pass through the backround as if someone knew exacly what thickness to use to give this effect. I has lots of bubbles, like the material was boiled and the bubbles surfaced only at the back of the cameo, the front is smooth, very well polished and no bubbles. The front is highly smooth, especially the chest and the hair and hands are very detailed.
It slightly glows green in UV light, but the seller did a test (Any don't read), and he said it smells plasticy.
@Bronwen knows about it, she encourage me to share it here as well as it's quite unique, it took weeks to source it.
@Bronwen would you be able to pin down the age of the cameo, and whether you think it's carved or cast.
Also, could you also share some information on the subject, below is what I found on the websites, but also if anyone is intrested, more information can be found at Cameotimes.com
I will post more photos as we go along, just got a new phone
Thank you all again.
Kind regards,
Simona
@Any Jewelry
@KSW
@komokwa
Please tag anyone you think is also intrested in this subject.

"The art-loving Roman Emperor Hadrian created a number of images of his beloved young man Antinous, and like all the others, this one is characterised by the soft smooth flesh but rather melancholy expression ."

 

It appears to be cast resin of some form, the surface is typical for this type of material.

 

I found this explanation on Wikipedia
“Resin casting is a method of plastic casting where a mold is filled with a liquid synthetic resin, which then hardens. It is primarily used for small-scale production like industrial prototypes and dentistry. ... During the setting process, the liquid monomer polymerizes into the polymer, thereby hardening into a solid.”
What would you say the resin is? In this case what do you think is the monomer and polymer is made of?
Thank you

 

I agree, it looks like resin. Nice subject and image though.

I never read this, of course but if it smells like plastic (= resin), I would say it is. But all you need is the visual, imo. There would be much less risk and damage to perfectly nice jewellery if sellers bothered to use their eyes.

 

The two most common types are polyester and expoxies. Polyester smells like fibreglass if you warm it up,

 

Or use my now famous (horrifying for James Conrad ) taste test...
Put your tongue on the surface, most chemicals plastic materials will give you the same feeling on your papillas than a freshly varnished nail
If you don't manicure your own, ask a good friend who does

 

Who may not be such a good friend afterwards....

 

forgot to specify "ASK PERMISSION FIRST!"

 

LOL! Mouths are a useful tool! In the field, American archeologists commonly do a "tap it against a tooth" test for ceramics vs glass vs rock vs metal. When I did this in Greece our archeologist guide was HORRIFIED! It was all I could do to stop her from washing my mouth out with bleach. Pansies!

 

My father used to 'taste' ceramic and metal antiquities and antiques to verify the age. He could taste the various minerals that came to the surface of a piece after a specific time (extrusion). No idea which mineral when, but he knew by using the tip of his tongue.

 

Absolutely horrifying for microb-phobics
I'm still alive and healthy after all these years of using my tongue on old items, rubbing pearls against my teeth, smelling old plastics...
Still amazed as how some are so afraid of supposedly toxic materials (generally same that use strong disinfectant in their houses or burn incense sticks all day long)! Someone asked if it was safe to wear malachite, or use their family heirloom crystal glasses (lead!)...

 

You don't need my confirmation, but definitely molded. As the Cameo Times article says, have yet to see one of this subject that wasn't. Seems to be strongly convex & to have been flattened on the back edges. @Simona Buhus How big is it?

 

its approximately 5 centimetres by 4 centimetres

 

thank you for your reply, unfortunately I don’t know how fibre glass smells like, and would probably not do a hot niddle test again .
I would like to ask you if this plastic that you mentioned glowed green in UV light.
Thank you

 

Polyester does commonly glow under uv, but so do many plastics. Certain additives and colourants can also increase the glow under uv.

 

" As the Cameo Times article says, have yet to see one of this subject that wasn't. Seems to be strongly convex & to have been flattened on the back edges. @Simona Buhus How big is it?[/QUOTE]

I will make the time to send you more photos of the Cameo to your email, so you can use them on your website.
@Bronwen I can't help but wonder why is it convex? Did the maker wanted to give the same feeling as with shell Cameos, or something else?
And the other two questions, how old do you think it is? Do you think it was made in the UK or maybe Italy or any other country?
Thank you again for your time.
Kind regards,
Simona
P. S. Thank you all as well for shearing your expertise.

 

The original mold may have been made from a helmet shell cameo. It really would be more convincing if they made it flat. It looks like something that would have been executed in hardstone, either as cameo or intaglio.

All I know is that they're not newly on the market; they've been around for, at the very least, 4 years, probably a whole lot longer than that. Is this how the surface looks or a trick of the light? If the material is deteriorating a little, that speaks for some age.

Think UK or US. Over the years have not made note of which country they were being sold from.

Is this a truncated version of yours?

https://www.pinterest.com/olithica/antinous/

 

Is this a truncated version of yours?

https://www.pinterest.com/olithica/antinous/[/QUOTE]

Yes, that is correct, only on mine his nose is slightly smaller, feminine I would say

 

https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...&ved=0ahUKEwj0q_GYkv3zAhU0gnIEHXcHCJwQ9pwGCA4

This is interesting. Much larger & presumably not convex. I can't vouch for the accuracy of their info. If the SMK (Denmark) has sold replicas over the years, or licensed the image to outside manufacturers, that is one way a mold may have come to be made.