Cameo Signature Help Needed

I can't even make out Michelini, what was the person trying to overwrite?

 

I don't know why these other loops & downstrokes were added, or by whom, but I had no idea when I bought it what it said because the additions made it illegible until I had a good idea of what his signature looks like & could discern underneath the clutter. The Met let me into their vaults so I could compare with their Michelini George Washington.

 

Thank you! I couldn't see it. Very cool that you went into the Met vault!

 

So, you think that Michelini carved the cameo early in his career and the cameo was sold by Dolcini? That would make sense, as Michelini was a bit later than Dolcini. In the 1830s-1840s, Dolcini is listed as selling cameos, by the 1850's, he is listed as selling knickknacks and lower end jewelry. Maybe Dolcini bought cameos from Michelini when he wasn't yet a good carver.

 

The idea that Michelini cut it & Dolcini sold it seems as much or more plausible than any other explanation, since both signatures are clearly there. But Michelini also had a shop, probably very similar to Dolcini's. Unless Dolcini took it over? Michelini moved from Rome to Paris in 1829 or 30. Where was Dolcini's establishment located?

 

Dolcini was in Rome.

 

Maybe Michelini sold the shop & some inventory when he moved to Paris?

 

Here's a case where the seller doesn't even mention the signature probably because she found it illegible:

https://www.rubylane.com/item/75095...Sardonyx78-Cameo-18K-Gold?search=1&t=12005cb9

 

In an 1830 guide to Rome, Michelini is listed as being at via della Croce No 61, while there is a 'Dolci' listed at via Condotti, No. 28. In an 1839 directory, Michelini is no longer included, but Dolcini is listed as being at via Condotti, No. 28. Dolcini may have bought some inventory from Michelini when Michelini closed up shop & moved to Paris.

 

Yes, I agree. I saw that info, too, and came to the same conclusion.

 

@Bronwen- found this signature for your files- Domenico Durasco. Found him in the 1854 & 1856 Rome Almanacs under the heading "Intagliatori". I also found him in another Almanac from 1843, where he is listed under "Incisori", making camei.

The cameo just sold at auction earlier this week. I was an unsuccessful bidder. I like the subject very much.

 

Thanks, am adding info to my signature records.

Do you have a link for this? Would like to get a photo of the front that is less pixelated. I can't actually tell what the subject is. The robes owe a lot to various sibyls, while she is wearing her hair like Venus.

 

Here is the link from Toovey's.

https://www.tooveys.com/lots/490036/a-victorian-gold-mounted-oval-shell-cameo-brooch/


I had copied/pasted from Liveauctioneers, but once something has sold there is no way to enlarge the pic. So that's why it was pixelated. Sorry.

Here is a picture from Toovey's website:



And the back, which has additional writing at the top that I can't decipher:



It is a depiction of Cleopatra dissolving her pearl earring in vinegar. the story goes that there was a wager between Cleopatra and Mark Antony as to which one could provide the most expensive feast. After Mark Antony's sumptious feast, Cleopatra drops a rare and precious pearl from her earring into a cup of vinegar and drinks it once the pearl has dissolved. The third person at the table is Lucius Munatius Plancus, Antony's ally, declares Cleopatra the winner of the wager. This cameo is based on the painting by Carlo Maratta (1625-1713):

 

Agreed. I found out a bit more information concerning Alessandro Dolcini. In some almanacs he is listed as a shopkeeper (1843 almanac entry below), and in 1865 he is listed as a "knick-knack and costume jewelry" shop owner at Mercedes 58. No other cameists I recognize are listed under these designations, and Dolcini is not listed under Incisori, where the other cameists are. That leads me to speculate that cameo carving was likely not his primary pursuit, if at all. Perhaps he bought cameos from others and signed his name to them because they came from his store. Or maybe he was a "hobby" cameo carver and sold his creations along with others' cameos.

 

It seems not to have been uncommon for enterprising individuals to both make cameos & run a shop with the sort of stuff that appeals to tourists. Michelini, Carnesecchi, Capparoni, Schmoll all did. Teresa Talani was married to such a shopkeeper. Those are just the ones I know off the top of my head.

 

Does anyone recognize this signature? To me it reads as Momsa or Momla. This is a recent addition to my collection. I really am partial to girls with birds.

 

Monila, Monita, Menila, Menita?

 

I found another Michelini/Dolcini signed cameo currently on Ebay. The cameo itself it quite humble, but on the reverse, Michelini's signature is there plus Dol... for Dolcini.

And another cameo with a clear Dolcini signature.

 

I think you are correct, Bronwen, that the hardstone cameo is by the older Jouanin (Julien-Marie). I just added this cameo to my collection, signed by C Jouanin (Charles-Victor). The carving is not as refined as the hardstone cameo, suggesting that Charles was either still learning, didn't have his father's talent, or was making the cameo specifically for a lower end market. The frame is not gold.

I do like the subject matter. I think it is a bride making an offering to the altar of Cupid in the hopes of a happy marriage. It could also be a vestal virgin. Cleaned up it is harder to see all the details and the signature disappeared. I uplaoded the signature twice because it is hard to read.

 

@Bronwen--Negri signature from a recent auction. There are multiple Negri cameo engravers listed over the years (see below), as you mentioned in a previous post. I think this cameo might be carved by T. Negri from the 1871 guide book, because there is No. 3 clearly inscribed on the back and his address was Piazza di Spagna No. 3.


From the 1905 Commercial Guide to Rome and the Provinces

From the 1890 Commercial Guide to Rome and the Provinces

From the 1871 Guida Commerciale, Scientifica, ed Artistica della Capitale d'Italia