Featured CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

The wheel indicates that what goes around...

 

Splatters on your head when it comes around!

 

It arrived, cleaned it, put scotch tape on back, covered the lacking area with UV curing resin, file in shape once cured.
Still have to perfect the color after smoothing the surface where there is some excess thickness
No cursing involved (yet)... Solid enough to resist the filing!

 

Great progress so far!

 

Thanks for letting us look over your shoulder at the process. What you manage to do is endlessly amazing. What are you using to add color to the resin?

Still can't work out the signature. .

 

Thank you!
I painted it with white mixed with brown ecoline inks, adjusted the hue with dabbing my finger with permanent marker on it
Final result!

 

So my wife and I have a small collection of cameos, we pick them up if they're fairly cheap (under $150) and if she likes them. I'm pretty sure all of these aren't worth more than what we paid (under $150) and probably some of them are even costume and not real cameos. I finally went through and photographed the collection, any in these worth a further look? Anything earlier than late Victorian or worth more than ~$150 (or gold melt)?

[EDIT] Any way to get these to post without trying to upload to the gallery? Trying to use BB Code to put in my photos, they work with previews but not when I try to post....

https://postimg.cc/gallery/LRtq50b

^ Above is the gallery

 

Looks a lot better than it did!

 

See this thread. https://www.antiquers.com/threads/posting-a-thread-and-uploading-pictures.15990/

 

Final ones

 

Nice group! Thanks for taking the time to post all of these. We love looking at cameos.

Others will be the final word on this, but to answer one of your questions -- I don't think any of the cameos are from earlier than the late Victorian period. One possible exception would be the male who is dressed like traditional representations of Dante. However, if he is earlier, the setting might be created later than he was. There could be other exceptions, so wait for others.

I also don't see anything that would be worth more than $150, although once again... just my opinion. I do like several of them, no matter their age or value.

 

And the female cameo right before the Dante one has such an unusual reverse side! I've never seen that before.

 

First 2 are crudely cut helmet shell & I would not feel a pang if they were scrapped. The third, the conch shell Flora, is my personal favorite out of all of them. Unfortunately, she is set in silver. The current market seems more focused on gold mounts than on quality of carving & silver settings seem to be almost a liability right now.

 

Carving of first is mediocre & obviously not solid gold. Back is more interesting than the front. What does the little tag say? Looks like it might have an acid etched signature, but hard to know with all the extraneous marks.

Think the poet is Petrarch. (Doesn't have Dante's hooked nose nor Boccaccio's ample chin.) Looks like this one may be coral. My second favorite.

The conch shell Psyche is a passable carving in a gold setting. I would not buy it for $150, but someone might.

The fourth one is a typical 50s - 60s "pretty lady", in desperate need of a bath. Also gold, so might also attract attention.

 

Thanks for the insight! I did recognize that the nose looked wrong for representations of Dante, but... was not familiar with other possibilities.

 

I'm going to have a repetitive motion injury from scrolling back & forth so much. Onward.

The coral Psyche is a nice carving & the frame is pretty, without any severe dings. Unfortunately it also appears to be 800 silver, so does not enhance value appreciably.

The lava bacchante appears to be a 20th century one that was molded, then given some finishing touches by hand. Mount does not look like gold, so modest value.

I have not seen the subject on the next one before, but it belongs to a type of souvenir cameo cut in tiger cowrie shell. Does anyone recognize the building? Assuming boat in foreground suggests Venetian canals & not the Thames.

The Diana is another passable one & in gold, so a likely seller. She also needs a bath.