Featured CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

I am very pleased to say that one is part of my collection. No clue to origin but betting it is French. I posted it when I first got it and another member suggested it might be Winter and have 3 other Seasons out there somewhere.

She is 'lava glass', glass with a gritty coating. Have only ever seen her in white. That one is mine &, theme of the day, a conchoidal fracture on the back:

I have been noticing this for a while. Seems like it used to be that far fewer were being offered for sale, frequently at very low prices, because they didn't sell very well. I had always ignored them as my real love was the mythological, not the historical. The hardstone portrait of a woman by Rudolph Otto might be the first one I bought, or could have been one in shell by Pio Siotto. Actually, it was probably this guy, acquired by accident when I was mainly interested in the lava Leonardo that came with him & inadvertently hit an extra number when placing a bid. I quickly realized he was far more interesting than da Vinci & someone treasured him to the point of having a very heavy duty custom silver mount made for him when the edges broke:



Conceivable it is signed, but back almost entirely covered in metal.

That first guy looks like he just took off his zuchetto for the first time in a month. I figure another pope, do you?

On the 2 in wooden frames, do you know what the material is? Are they plaster?

 

Drool. Nuff said.

 

I think you are correct. Now that you said it, I don't know how I missed that. I think he is Pope Pius XII. Later portraits show him with a bit of an under chin wattle.

I am not sure. I was wondering if maybe they were Tassies or something similar? It is very hard to tell from the pictures. The descriptions call them "carved cameo silhouette portraits". Here is the link so you can check them out.

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/...0155/lot-2b790e81-64b3-436b-afb5-af0400e3eb3a

The epaulet man! I think there was a previous conversation about who he might be. Roman draped clothing but an epaulet was peeping out at the shoulder.

I really favor the mythological also, but started collecting the portrait cameos too, over the last few years. My first one was the Neri lady I have already posted before, which I bought more for the fact she was signed, rather than the portrait itself. I have really come to appreciate their beauty and accuracy.

 

I was wondering how this would do. Not all that well, if it is as auctioneer describes. However, it is my, & I suspect bidders' too, considered opinion that this cameo is glass:

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/...&utm_content=auktio28-10021-image1#lotDetails







What do others see?

 

I see the chip...and smooth back, and reflection off the front...

 

You see the smooth white back. On a typical sardonyx cameo, which this is pretending to be, the sard (dark brown) layer goes all the way to the back, or sometimes it is edging into the next white onyx layer & there is a bullseye effect. Here there is no depth to the brown layer at all, white shows around the edges at the front, & the brown looks streaky, like it has been painted on.

The seller of this piece swore it was stone; it is glass:

 

I see same... Glass! The texture of the profile in the close up is a clue too

 

I do hope the winning bidder knew what they were bidding on. If auctioneer can't tell stone from glass, what assurance is there about the 'diamonds'?

 

The white back was the red flag for me.

 

That one has me wondering. The cameo is glass for sure, but she's pretty. The gold looks like gold, and these days that's where the value is alas. I wouldn't be too surprised if the "diamonds" are zircons or similar. (and frankly wouldn't care if I were the buyer, not being overly fond of diamonds.)

 

Cameo and jewelry gurus: I would like your opinion. This plaque has been in my collection for a while and I have never been able to decide the material from which it is made. It is in a fitted case, which looks to be original, as the plaque fits snugly. The plaque is very light and thin. It is more yellow/cream than my pictures show. I don't see Schreger lines, so I question whether it is ivory. Velvet is glued to the back and I haven't taken it off. I did pull up the side of the velvet and there is old yellow glue holding it down.

The carving is extremely detailed and fine. To me it looks like the aftermath of a battle since there is a man with an amputated leg and another with a knife stuck in his belt who is a double amputee. Maybe after the French Revolution?

Any thoughts as to material or subject matter? Thanks for your help.

 

To my eyes, the texture, subtle glow, fineness of details and the upper area cracks are indication of ivory!
Schreger lines aren’t always present on a piece, depending in which orientation it was cut...

SUPERB!!!

 

I'm seeing glass...or maybe a shell of some type.....

 

Looks very much like ivory to me. Celluloid could mimic this, but can't see anyone enshrining a Celluloid cameo in a case like this; also can't see this being a mass produced piece.

Have a look at the cameos on this cabinet that was auctioned by Christie's:

http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/...ted-padouk-medal-cabinet-5585039-details.aspx

While Schreger lines only appear on tusk cross sections, if the section of material used is from the interior, not the outer perimeter, you will not see them. That streaky, milky look is something you do see {kyra just nipped in with what I was saying more laboriously}.

 

The word that comes to mind for both ivory carving & subject matter is 'Flemish.'

 

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/boxw/hd_boxw.htm

"Carvers took delight in shaving portions of their compositions to a translucent degree of thinness (24.80.87)."

 

What does it feel like? Some older ivory pieces feel like a bar of soap when you rub a finger on them.

 

From that same Met article:

The gelatinous substance emitted from its pores eases cutting and yields a characteristic mellow sheen when polished.

 

The thing that did it for me was that the bridge of the nose isn't somewhat translucent

 

I can see one word of the writing as 'James'. However, since paper was cut down to fit in the case after the words were written, seems unlikely they relate to the piece, but...?

I have the same issue with this piece. On the gold paper collar around the cameo is written 'Camillo Pestrini', a documented maker of cameos. It is framed for hanging. There is quite a lot written on the paper that was used on the back, but the paper was trimmed down, losing information necessary for understanding the note. Remaining are the tantalizing bits 'James' & n. 20 Leice'. James Tassie's workshop was at 20 Leicester Square. My guess it that the top line has the name of the sitter. Could easily have been framed by the Tassie operation.