Featured Another ID parade - brooch this time!

I know this Is sadly totally trashed as so damaged but I’m intrigued to know if anyone can tell me any more information. At first glance it just looks like a stain but there is a clear portrait there. It’s difficult to know what it’s made of but from the back it almost looks like leather?. Glass fronted which is probably the only reason why it’s survived a hard life.
Think it’s just a cheap brass surround.
Thanks

 

You may be pleasantly surprised. It looks ca 1890s, and looks like it could be ca 800 silver.
@Bronwen can probably id the gent.

 

Herakles/Hercules

https://cameotimes.com/index.php/profiles-1/mortals/hercules/hercules-alone

 

But then you like to live dangerously.

 

Looks like it was gilt. Think it is quite likely to be silver, although possibly 800 rather than 925. From what remains, appears to be meant to look like a cameo but actually painted.

 

So it is!. Was he a popular subject in the 1890s?. Is that clasp typical of that era?
I was wondering what he had knotted under his chin- the remains of some poor lion!.
So what is it likely to be made of? Looks like leather as it's not cold to touch.

 

It is mostly the narrower type tube hinge that makes me think 1890s. The c-clasp was used for a very long time, and is still used in some parts of the world.

 

He has been a popular subject for coins & engraved gems for as long as the Greeks have been telling stories & the Romans retelling them.

I can't tell from the photos what the central portion is made of. Without the additional clues I would get if I could handle it, I'm at a loss. Just because I've never seen a piece of leather painted/printed with a cameo image doesn't mean no such thing has ever been made. When you say it is not cold, what part of it do you mean? Is it possible it was painted directly onto the inner side of the glass? I would not know there was any glass there if you had not told us. Is the glass flat or convex?

If I had seen this on eBay & it was cheap enough, I'd probably buy it just to find out how it was made.

 

Were you watching me?!
The glass had a very slight convex curve .
I was talking about the back when saying it’s not cold- the leather looking material it is painted/stamped on. Looks like heavy duty cardboard but I don’t think that would have survived!.
I’m fairly sure it isn’t painted on the glass but without taking it apart I’m not 100% sure. I don’t trust my ability to dissect it without causing terminal damage!
The surround is definitely a base metal- no silver or gold!

 

With all the cameos sitting all over the place, you could say I have eyes everywhere.

Could it be a vellum-type paper?

 

Yes, it could well be. Looks quite thick though- did vellum come in varying thicknesses? I've only ever seen the thin papery stuff.

 

It seems the word 'vellum' has come to be used for 2 pretty different papers; I was thinking of the rougher, opaque variety:

https://blog.thepapermillstore.com/what-is-vellum-vel-uhm-paper/

I don't see a ribbed texture, so 'laid' is probably not the right term.

https://www.princeton.edu/~graphicarts/2008/03/laid_or_wove.html

Maybe just antique rag paper, now very dry. I'm imagining something fairly thick, stiff & texture-y. Whatever it's called.

 

I think you are spot on that it's likely to be on vellum. I've studied up close with a jewellers loupe and I can't see any fibres that indicate rag paper. My first impression was leather and vellum is calf skin isn't it.
I think he deserves a place in my jewellery box just for surviving this long although he's a bit out of place amongst the beads and pretty things.
I love an oddity like this though as I've learned about Greek Mythology, tube pins,rag paper and vellum!.

 

P.s Can you help date an item if glass is flat or concave?

 

You can bend the metal back into shape and display it on velvet in a frame maybe? It looks interesting enough to be on display.

 

True vellum is a kind of fine parchment (etymologically related to 'veal') & I suppose you could say that makes it leather. I was thinking of one of the papers given the same name, but you have the tactile info on it.

I asked more so my brain had additional info to help it see the glass. Can't see the glare or distortion I would expect from convex glass. Think flat v. curved goes more to quality, flat being easier & cheaper to make.

This may not have a lot of intrinsic value based on value of materials, but I still find it really interesting.