Need help with value

Looks to be 9ct gold frame and a carved shell cameo. No reason to think it isn't real, as far as I can see, however value is another story.

 

The frame will have value. Cameo doesn’t look that well carved, but @Bronwen is the expert.

 

Welcome, ljlaash. The cameo is hand carved helmet shell with an illegible acid etched signature on the back. This etching dates the cameo to the 20th century, but I would like to see the hinge & clasp, which might narrow it down a little more. I do not recognize the figures as mythological or otherwise identifiable. The cameo would have been cut in Italy, set elsewhere, probably England, based on the 9ct mark.

I would clean it up a bit; the lines of the carving are obscured & distorted by the deposits in the crevices. This may be something that was done deliberately when it was first made, for the contrast, & you may want to leave some of it for the same purpose, but, to my mind, it would be an improvement to remove some of it
from the faces & all areas that are heavily coated. A short soak in regular tap water with a dab of liquid soap followed by the gentle application of a soft toothbrush is safe & effective. If the first round of treatment does not produce adequate results, repeat. Make sure that after patting it dry you give it ample opportunity to air dry before putting it into any kind of box.

I usually try to bring pieces back to the look they had when they first left the carver's hand, but that's a personal preference. We would love to see the outcome if you do decide to do a little cleaning.



As to value, prices have been all over the place for a while now. The very high price of gold seems to be a major influence in this. Albeit of low karatage, the mount is nonetheless marked gold & the scene quite appealing, both good selling points. Check eBay sold listings for cameo brooches of similar description for an idea of current value.

 

Any chance that might be Isabella and Lorenzo?

 

You're thinking she's holding the pot of basil? Think Italian cameo cutters would not have been aware of this poem, but...?* On my living room wall I have a framed print that belonged to my grandmother:



There are cameos based on non-mythological literary sources. I have one of Angelica & Medoro carving their names on a tree, from Orlando Furioso:

 

* Since Keats lifted the tale from the Decameron, perhaps they would have known the story without knowing the poem.

 

Bronwen: Of the four well-known L&I paintings, the one you have is my favorite. But ALL of them are Serious Drama!

I think that's Lorenzo's shade over her shoulder.