Featured CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

She's kind of a generic figure to whom various attributes can be added: flowers; grapes; crescent.

 

It's my impression that these navette shaped cameos were popular in the early 20th century. She looks inspired by the Herculaneum dancers.

 

I rescued another maple syrup victim the signature looks like m/t. Any ideas?

 

At least one can understand how Ceres could get covered in dirt! No immediate take on the signature, although think it definitely is one. I'm not at home. When I am, will try manipulating the photo a little to see if it becomes any clearer. It's about the quality of a standard Schmoll, but doesn't quite look like his mark.

 

I took another picture with the flash on. Maybe you can see it better there

 

I also got this lovely cameo that was sold to me as shell with terrible online pictures. It turns out that it looks like my other hardstone ones (score!) And also has a signature on the back

 

That is a beauty!!!!!

 

Great photo. Feel as though I have seen it before, but don't know who it belongs to. I read it as M/t, do you?

 

She's definitely hardstone. It always baffles me when sellers, who have the piece in hand, can't tell the difference between stone & shell.

It's conceivable the markings on the back were a dealer's, not the engravers. Again, I'm no help. In addition to the 4497 (inventory number?) I see tr. Could be the production of a German workshop, worked on by several people.

Lovely mount as well. Clasp appears to have been replaced, removing one clue to age. Turn of the 20th century, I would guess.

 

I knoww!! There was one picture that made me suspicious of it being shell. I would understand if they said that they think its glass instead, but shell looks and feels so different. Thank you for your suggestions!
Yes, to me it looks like m/t as well but I don't know anything about signatures lol. I am just happy that I keep finding these treasures at decent prices.

 

This item is up for auction on Aug 25.

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/rare-antique-nathaniel-marchant-hard-stone-cameo--5a34fc5a7b

It is described as a:
RARE antique Nathaniel Marchant hard stone cameo seal . Signed Marchant.f - depicting a portrait of a gentleman facing a reflective older gentleman wearing a ruffled cape. The cameo is wonderful inscribed with the motto 'quo me rapis tui plenum', which loosely translates from Latin as 'where are you carrying me off to?'. Measures 3cm x 2.6cm wide



It didn't look like a hardstone seal to me, but a paste reproduction. I did some research and came up with the following info. Hope this is as interesting for you as it is to me.

The original gem, an intaglio, is held in a private collection in the United States. The original also has an intaglio of Cleopatra carved on the reverse of the gem, which the item listed for auction does not. The inscription alludes to Horace Odes III.25.1-2, Quo me Bacche rapis tui plenum, 'Where, O Bacchus, are you carrying me off to, so full [of your wine]?'.

Nathaniel Marchant, the engraver of the original seal, is well known for his intaglio engraving, meaning that the primary image was carved into the stone, not above the stone background. When dipped in wax, intaglios produced an image that was above the background, just like the item above. A wax impression of the original seal is in the British Museum and was completed in two colors of wax to highlight the image.

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_1864-0816-7

The auction item is a glass or paste reproduction, likely produced by James Tassie, William Tassie or Tomasso Cades. These reproductions were made from impressions of the original gems and were extremely popular. A reproduction (no. 2822) of the original Marchant gem is listed in James Tassie's catalog: A Catalogue of Impressions in Sulphur of Antique and Modern Gems from which Pastes are made and sold by J. Tassie, London 1775. The wealthy would order from the catalog and collect these imitation gems. The intaglio was also reproduced in porcelain by Josiah Wedgwood, see example in the British Museum (below) and sold very well for Wedgwood.

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_1887-0307-I-552

A plaster impression of the original gem was also made and sold by Amastini. As you can see, the plaster impression also has the image above the background, like the auction item. Of course, plaster is much easier to damage and does not hold up to handling like a glass or paste reproduction.

https://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/XDB/ASP/recordDetails.asp?recordCount=1&start=0

The Garrick Club also has a copy of the seal and its corresponding wax impression.

https://garrick.ssl.co.uk/object-m0185
https://garrick.ssl.co.uk/object-m0023

The gem image is of David Garrick turned to face Shakespeare. David Garrick was England's most famous and influential 18th century actor. He is credited with bringing the works of Shakespeare back to contemporary audiences, thereby establishing Shakespeare as the most important English playwright. His naturalistic acting style, innovative set design, lavish costumes, and editing of plays, both old and new, cemented his legacy and has had a lasting effect on how theater is produced and experienced.

I emailed the auction house. Hopefully they will change their description prior to the auction.

 

More gents for Bronwen's pinterest boards:

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/antique-agate-cameo-and-enamel-pendant-6604fbe870


https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/a-19th-century-gold-and-enamel-cameo-broach-c0f412daed


https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/134590078_bicolor-gold-and-cameo-brooch

 

I found this Ceres at the antique mall. I was so happy to find her!
I'm thinking 1880s-1910? Or older?
There is no signature.

 

I think your time period is about right. She was ubiquitous then & for some time after. Not having a mount hinders dating. Nice piece.

 

I recently went to The Walters Art Art Museum in Baltimore, MD. They have a nice collection of cameos. One exhibited was carved by Teresa Talani of Empress Josephine. @Bronwen, have you seen this one? I attached a picture I took (in color) and one from the Walters (in black and white). Her signature is underneath the bust, which unfortunately is not visible in my photo. It was beautiful in person, but hard to photograph due to the lighting and the glass case.



Below pics of some of the other cameos and intaglios on display, and well as a huge case of engraved gem impressions in a cabinet that was thought to come from James Tassie's workshop. These are housed in a part of the museum aptly named the "Chamber of Wonders". It is my favorite gallery in the museum.

 

Thanks @Bronwen!
I couldn't leave her in that jewelry case, all sad and lonely! I'll make a sterling frame and wear her as a necklace.

 

Very nice! Glad you rescued her.

 

Thanks for this. When I first began to look into my own Talani, the Walters Josephine, the 2 cameos in the British Museum & the 2 owned by U. Penn. were what I was able to find. I sent out inquiries to the Walters & to Penn, knowing they could not authenticate, but asking if there was anything about mine that signalled an obvious fake. Both were kind enough to reply that there was no reason to think mine was not genuine. (The argument that has nothing to do with the physical properties of the piece is that if you were going to forge a signature to enhance value, hers is not the name you would pick.)

I had only the Walters' B&W photo, so glad to see her in color.* She looks much better in your pic; theirs flattens the work.

You will have seen the signage, but for others who might read this, the amethyst intaglio is one of the Poniatowski gems. It depicts Mercury & the Amazon Myrto, and is signed with the pseudonym Apollonides. You can learn a bit more here:

http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/D5D5D105-4571-4AD8-B409-F80897789D75

The carnelian looks like it would have made a good seal for a lady's letters.

Wonder if the cabinet of impressions contains everything Tassie had to offer at the time it was made. Looks to have 60 or 61 drawers (the letter J is not used) with 50 or more impressions in each, so that is certainly the bulk of them. Some of the collection is armorials. Maybe most people wouldn't be interested in most of those.

Lucky you. Would love to see the Walters Museum. Too bad cameos, &, even more, intaglios, are so difficult to display. So glad many institutions have put their collections on line with closeup photos.

* Edit: See they now also have a color photo, but, like the B&W, taken dead on, flattening the carving. Yours is helpful because it is at a slight angle.

 

I am happy that the Talani cameo photo I took was helpful to you. It is a lovely cameo in person. Because I lived in MD for most of my life, I have seen other cameos in their collection in person, which was great. One of my favorites is the cameo of Mrs. Walters carved by Tomasso Saulini. It is no longer on display.

The Walters is one of my favorite museums. Now I live in KY and only go there when I am visiting my family occasionally. My daughter and I went to an exhibit about majolica pottery. It was fascinating.

Yes, I did see the info about the Poniatowski gem. I thought it was beautiful. Due to the low lighting in the Chamber of Wonders and the small sizes of each one, the intaglios were difficult to make out. They were actually easier to see when I took a picture and enlarged it.

I don't know how many impressions the cabinet had in it. Wouldn't it be awesome to be able to look through the entire cabinet and compare it to his catalogs? I could happily sit there for hours/days just looking through each drawer.

 

Mrs. Walters is probably better seen here than in a display case:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/...eo_Bust_of_Ellen_Walters_-_Walters_572001.jpg

Wonder why they took her off exhibit? Conservation reasons, perhaps? Don't know how well shell cameos do in the long term when under display lighting.