Featured CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

As in, why did someone put that cameo in 14k? Or/also, who chewed up the bezel?

I want to be appalled at the right thing.

 

Why in the first place? And then, looks to me as though some attempt was made to secure it in the mount after it fractured. Why? And again I ask, Why?!

 

Obviously, it was a gift from a lover who died tragically and this was all that was left to remember him/her.

 

Rereading that, it's not nearly as funny as I intended.

 

After looking at it again today, I'm not even sure the terminating "l" isn't part of the swoosh.

 

You guys have some stunning pieces. I have to think about gathering all of mine up and putting them in a pretty storage box, too.

I got this one yesterday from an antique dealer. She didn't know who she was, Diana, of course. Probably set in GF, no marks. What say you on the age? I thinkt he carving is very well done, the back of her hair is raised a bit.

 

Oh, Bronwen, so absolutely gorgeous!

 

I laughed and I believe it, maybe it was a hobby piece or sentiment?

 

Very pretty! I think @Bronwen has said something about the dates of cameos that have that type of necklace put on mythological figures. Maybe she said that in this thread somewhere?

Okay, found her comment here https://www.antiquers.com/threads/cameos-show-tell-or-ask-answer.23493/page-54#post-494057
that says basically that the goddess having a necklace is a longer tradition but that the multiple strands might indicate more of an updated version.

 

I'd say the cameo & immediate surround look turn of the last century but the clasp, bail &, to some extent, hinge, look newer. If replaced, done more neatly than so often seen.

She's really very nice. You can compare her with an array of others here:

https://cameotimes.com/index.php/profiles-1/olympian-gods/diana-artemis

More than double strand necklaces, hoop earrings on cameo ladies seem to have been introduced sometime between art nouveau & art deco periods. Thought I once posted a pic of one of mine, but not finding it.

 

I usually go by nose shape and findings....didn't know about necklaces!

 

Don't see ones that are different from a singe strand of pearls with enough frequency for that observation to have much application.

Haven't I shown this before?

 

Seemed the best explanation to me. And not nearly as lame as the cameo is.

 

I don't remember it, but I've gotten lost in this thread before. It's beautiful!

 

I thought I might have put it up in conjunction with a conversation about micromosaic, even thought I remembered about apologizing for its needing to be dusted off. Couldn't find it. I know sometimes I think I've done something when I only considered/imagined doing it.

 

Wish I could do one of those poll things as part of an individual post in a larger thread rather than having to make a separate thread. Would be interested to know whether any of you, since you began to look in on this thread, have A) passed up as not worth the money a cameo you might have bought in the past, and/or B) bought a cameo you would not have before, either because you thought it was too much money or you did not realize there was something special about material, subject, etc.

Oh, & C) do you now routinely check for a signature?

 

I love the mosaic cameo, it is so beautiful ! Do we have drooling emoticons ?

As your poll, I would say:

A- definitely yes. More than that, looking back at my cameos, I realize there are some I shouldn't have bought at all.. Not that I'am a big expert now, but that's part of the learning process, isn't it ?
B- definitely yes
C- no

 

Thank you. She's in a brass easel frame that sits next to my computer monitor. Unfortunately, & this is where the need to apologize for the dust comes in, she has to lie flat so one of the cats (you know who you are!) doesn't knock her down.

It's not even so much about becoming an expert in terms of knowing anything technical about cameos as about familiarizing yourself with the range of what's out there, developing your eye, taste & sense of value. Believe me, we've all got pieces we would no longer look at twice. That's how it begins.

 

A) yes
B) yes
C) yes

This thread (and you, of course!) has been very helpful!

 

This thread has been going just as I'd hoped, with posts both to show off treasures & opportunities to learn new things. Was curious whether it was translating into changed attitudes/behavior, turning out to be at all useful, not just pretty pictures to look through.