Featured Id help fırst cameo; what era, maker, style

Could you please help me to ID this cameo. It ıs sıgned (last 2 pics) but cant read .


Thank you

 

@Bronwen
@PepperAnna

Hello, @Rec I've tagged two of the people who might have ideas about the signature. There are others, also, who may chime in.

I can see the cameo could use some cleaning, and is somewhat worn in places. Both of those are common situations with older cameos. This one appears to be from the 19th century.

 

thank you @Figtree3. what is the best way to get it clean without damaging the frame and cameo

 

I would give it a good soak, maybe even overnight, in water with a dab of dish washing liquid soap. I just use tap water, but if you have something around that has been more filtered, you might want to use that. You only need enough to submerge the piece. After soaking, you can go at it with a soft toothbrush. If no amount of brushing takes some of the more embedded grunge out, soak some more. With some pieces I've had to soak & brush 3 or 4 times to restore shell to the way it looked when it left the carver's hand.

My personal taste is to clean the cameo back to new looking but to leave signs of age on the metal surround. Think you would want to look out for those decorative curls, not to grab them with the toothbrush.

Pat dry, then, really important, give piece a good long time to air dry before enclosing it in any way.

 

Thanks @Bronwen I wanted to do that first but wanted to make sure. Thank you for the confirmation. Can you also tell us something about the material, the scene, the period, etc.

 

Afraid I don't recognize this. If the author worked only in shell, never in hardstone, is probably little documented, if at all.

The scene on the cameo puts me in mind of "Giselle", with a man from royalty/nobility wooing a peasant girl. It ends badly. There is probably a painting behind this. Fragonard did a lot of couples courting in the countryside, but he's not the only one.

 

Got interrupted on this.

The cameo is cut in helmet shell, undoubtedly in Italy & probably in the vicinity of Naples. Based on the carving & the bit I can see of the clasp (does it have a hinged piece that flips up when the pin stem is in the C clasp & hold it in place?) I would put this to turn of the 20th. The mount does not look Italian, as is most often the case.

 

Please show us the piece again after its bubble bath. We love seeing the transformations.

 

I don't know what you mean, but maybe these picture will help.....its a swirled c clasp

if you look at the scene, could it french... perhaps good to report its about 5cm long

 

yes i'll

 

do you recognize the letters?

 

@Bronwen how do you feel about ultrasound on cameos?

 

! No more than I would use it on pearls. Unless you are talking hardstone, of course, then it's a question of the rest of the setting. Although it wouldn't bother the cameo, I can't get the diamonds in this cleaned, much as they need it, because of the pearls. Probably wouldn't be good for the enamel either.



These days mass produced hardstone cameos are engraved using ultrasound.

 

They do help. What I thought I was seeing is really the back of the decoration on the front.

 

I would not be surprised if the scene is based on a French work of art, but the cameo is Italian.

 

I'm seeing M (h? k?) t. However, neither H nor K is a letter you regularly see in in Italian names. (And K is something you do not see much in French.) I thought I had seen something like Mt on the back of a cameo before but couldn't find it in my records. Knowing exactly what it says may not be any help. This could not be clearer, yet I have never been able to ID it:

 

lLet me check if I understand you correctly. It is definitely an Italian cameo engraved by an Italian artist who may have used a French scene. the frame is not italian and could be french...

I don't see many cameos with a scene like this. are there many such scenes depicted?
do you also have a name for those curly decorations on the front of the frame

 

Correct.

Correct.

Correct.

I doubt it. Where in the world are you, Rec?

They have not been as popular as mythological themes & "pretty ladies", but they're out there. I do not collect them, so have not paid close attention.

Foliate ornament? I'm making it up.

 

Possibly the leaves are the tip of acanthus leaves which were (are?) extremely popular in decorative arts all over Europe.

 

Thanks @Bronwen .i'm from Netherland