Featured Mystery cameo

Purchased this as part of a lot of mostly miniature portraits at auction. I suppose technically it’s a portrait too. It is signed back and front but I can’t make out either. M&M is see. Even if I could I don’t know if it would matter. I’m sure there was a million cameo carvers and probably only a handful or two are individually known? Either way figured I’d post here and see if anyone can tell me more about it? Maybe who the girls are? It’s seems to be on the nicer side of things.

 

I think it’s a recent cameo. Scognamiglio.

 

@Bronwen???

 

Random girls faces that are considered pretty. The Italians carve many of these girls, but they have no specific identity.
It is nice that yours is signed, the Scognamiglio family is wellknown in Torre del Greco, the coral and shell cameo carving centre near Naples.

Here is some info, yours would have been made by a recent generation:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/05/fashion/jewelry-cameos.html
http://www.mmscognamiglio.com/Generazioni_eng.aspx

 

Agree. Random "pretty girls", often marketed as a "sisters" cameo. They are not meant to represent any specific historic/ancient people or goddesses.

 

Ooh thanks! Cool that it’s an old family business. I can’t read NYT articles without a subscription unfortunately. I did find this site which breaks it down all the way. http://www.mmscognamiglio.com/Generazioni_eng.aspx

M&M is the families companies name not a person. Seems unlikely my cameo was carved by a family member. Guessing that’s why there is a siggy on the front that doesn’t look like Scognamiglio. They teamed up with HSN and major luxury retailers in the 2000’s so there was a flood of their more “mass” produced work to the market. I’m guessing this is from that era.

 

That is the second link I posted.

 

Oh haha. Didn’t notice it was two.

 

You already have full & sound guidance. There is a contemporary cutter named Ciro Accanito, but this is not his signature. 'Fraid I don't recognize it other than as Scognamilia.