Featured CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

I do love the really sculptural aspect of lava cameos. Thank you for the correction on the Wedgwood image! I like that story even better. It might explain why this image was less popular.

 

@Bronwen @mirana Here is the cameo I'm considering. Does it look like coral to you? Or glass or conch? My eyes aren't expert enough for this yet! Thank you in advance.

 

She is beautiful!!

 

I think glass, cuz she's so smooth....imo

 

My vote is coral. The pattern is right, the nicer mount, deep cuts, and the linear texture are my tells. You can even see the lines disrupt the highlights in spots, which says the pattern isn't just in the substance, but a texture, to me.

Thank you! Your potential coral gal is lovely.

 

Definitely not glass. The ID is challenging because in these photos, particularly the one of the back, the color is very like conch shell pink, which is discussed in this article, if you haven't already read it:

https://cameotimes.com/index.php/reference/materials-guide?start=1

However, that said, I'm going to join Mirana & say coral. Some additional reasons that persuade me are the lack of color layers -- the figure & ground are the same color -- and the high gloss texture of the figure (Flora), even in the crevices. She may turn out to be a little more orange-y than pix show.

 

I always do a little happy dance when I see this thread come back to the top of the "Recent Posts" list!

 

I have one, & hoping to make it 2 tomorrow, to show off once they arrive. Auction houses are in England, so it will be some time yet, what with holiday mail crush.

Was up at 4am to catch today's auction. Bidding was furious, to the evident surprise of the auctioneers, & I couldn't help but wonder whether one of my competitors was our own @PepperAnna who would also be interested in a cameo signed by Antonio Vergé.

 

I wouldn't be surprised. Sellers sure were though - they don't know cameo collectors! Y'all are rabid.

I go right to coral on this one too. The back in this case didn't mean much, but I can see the coral lines in her from here.

 

I hate the adrenaline that comes with that! I also hate the wait! I have 2 coming domestically that I think are signed and I keep hitting refresh on their tracking as if anything is going to be different or useful. Waiting for travel from a European auction house.....uggggh.

I'm sure they're worth it though. Can't wait!

...I don't forget when y'all tease photos. Still waiting on @PepperAnna 's Kinney...

 

You can always do your part for the cause and buy pretties you should(n't) and shaaare.

 

I also think we should show off old favorites now & then & not just new acquisitions.

 

Yup, I was bidding on the Verge, too! But I was not successful. Did you get the Verge? I hope so!

I was up early yesterday and today bidding. I did get one cameo by Levasseur, who had popped up on our forum before. This is the picture from the Auction house- I will post another when I receive it and clean it up. I love these pastoral scenes.

 

Once she is cleaned up I don't doubt that detail will look amazing, based on the other posted here. The way he does plants is soooo good. His "L" doesn't have the same flourish as the other examples, but the "fancy" s from one version and the looped around r flourish from another. Like most artists, couldn't stick to one version. Interesting to see.

 

I knew it! Yes, I overstepped my idea of what would be reasonable for me to bid & was the winner. There was one other bidder in the mix. The auction house didn't know what they had. There are not that many people in the world who do. I only dozed off & on with the light on, waiting for 4am auction start.

Auction I was in today started at 10am GMT, so 5am EST, but my cameo was lot 660 (too bad not 666 so I could say the devil made me do it), so I knew I didn't have to look in on it until 10am my time.

She's not really the greatest work, not signed, not particularly large, but finally - Finally! - I can add a tolerably good 5th Hour of the Day to her sisters.





Wonder why cameo engraver chose to rearrange her legs? And she's going to burn her hand.

One of the few others I've ever found out there has another arrangement of the legs;

https://www.ebay.com/itm/200306946958

 

Congratulations!! Idk I think that carving is quite well done, especially at that size. The fabric is so great with it's semi-transparency. I'm guessing he rearranged the legs because --as the ebay carver learned--trying to represent the bottom of a foot or the back of a knee with foreshortening is a terrible thing to do to yourself! It is difficult to get right. A bent knee in profile is going to look more aesthetically pleasing with less brain work involved. Those feet are so well done too. I can't stand weirdly shaped feet in art.

 

Good points all. And the hand is true to the original.

 

Woo-hoo!!

 

It was great to finally spot one. Auction house described her as Leto. I can only think they linked Leto to Apollo, Apollo to the sun. In my mind this cameo is mine by right: no one could possibly have wanted her more. Seemed like there was only 1 other bidder, so not the feeding frenzy of the Vergé.

 

I've already shown off all of mine... and my tastes and knowledge have evolved enough that I can no longer afford the cameos that I want...