Featured CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

*squint*


Others may differ, I need better pictures. Maybe not on a white background.

 

Sorry the carving quality isn't the best either.

 

I really like the setting, too, it's what initially caught my eye. Even the back appears to have some chasing.

putti putty funny punny!

 

Gorgeous. They are SO expensive and pretty hard to find. If I inherited something with so much meaning I’d have a hard time letting it go too.

So far I just have the chain and that took me forever to source one that I liked and could add to.

 

I know, it's shocking how much they go for.

 

I cannot make up my mind on these.

 

What type of shell produces this color? I like it.

 

But it makes sense. Talismans of luck, personal family hunting heirlooms all set in precious metals.

I’m Mexican/Cuban so mine is going to end up with things like azebache, aztec beads, a scorpion I proudly killed with my sandle, etc....lol

 

That's such a fantastic idea! I've seen some charms made with stag beetle parts, and I bet a scorpion would look incredible on one. Or a rattlesnake rattle/teeth.

 

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

But it's a much darker pink than I would have thought, so wdik?

I know stone was dyed, but I don't remember reading anything about the same with shell. And I don't see obvious evidence of dying.

Maybe Queen Conch in flattering light?

 

Hermès came to live with me today. He is rather small, the shell is approximately 25cm tall and 21cm wide. The price was small, too. The seller didn’t notice the 14K mark on the pin catch, or the other 14K mark on the fixed bail. It’s also signed but I’m having a lot of difficulty reading it and my phone just cannot capture it in a photo.
Looks like M e r c r e d i ??? (Which I know is French for Wednesday... and makes googling a mess.)

 

For some reason I was sent only a couple of alerts about new replies to this thread. Had no idea so much has been added since I last looked. Will work on catching up.

 

Seller should have said 'sardonyx shell', a casual name for helmet shell (Cypreacassis) when it has a dark brown layer instead of a brighter orange layer. The 2 that are used most are C. rufa & C. madagascariensis. You will also see the term 'carnelian/cornelian shell' (as well as 'cameo shell'), as Jivvy surmises, because of the color resemblance.

Just so. When cut from a large enough shell, a section of helmet shell can be so flat as not to require a curved mount, and the color is so much the same as stone, they are visually indistinguishable from the front. See 2 examples in the middle of this article:

https://cameotimes.com/index.php/reference/materials-guide?start=2

 

This is one of only 2 subjects I regularly see in both resin & shell:





The lobster claw earring is an interesting touch. The marcasite surround can really brighten up a piece. I have a couple I love too.

 

It actually looks to me like it could be a 'dripstone' piece that has had the hollow in the back filled in after the original material dried.

If it is indeed French, that argues strongly for dripstone, which is a specialty of France, the way lava is of Naples.

It is Beatrice. Have not seen her in dripstone before, but, all counted, have not really seen all that many dripstone pieces. The painting was long regarded as being Beatrice painted by Guido Reni. It is now thought to be neither, but that was the prevailing notion when she was made as a cameo.

 

Molded. Could be glass. The way that back has been covered is always a red flag. Still pretty, just probably not worth what is being asked for it.

 

I don't quite know what these are either. Suspect they are modern 'lava', which seems to turn up in pale green fairly often. They look small? Famous Italian figures from the arts were popular lava subjects, many with the name of the figure engraved on the front or, more commonly, scratched into the back. Bracelets using 5 or 6 of them were also popular. These look like they were made for a French version. Quality suggests they were not made in France.

 

Cowrie shell. She's a seriously wacky version of Athena.

 

@Barn Owl

What piece are you working on for Charivari? Is it for a website? Magazine?