Featured CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

And who got fired for this one?

 

Interesting those cameos are of Achilles. After much googling, I did find a connection between Ares and a dragon.

Ismenian Dragon - a dragon which guarded the sacred spring of Ares near Thebes. It was slain by Cadmus in his quest of founding Thebes when he went after his men who did not return, after sending them for water.

 

Maybe you should post it to the Militaria forum. Probably not an arbitrary design. China has been cranking out cameos with things like Masonic emblems. Could be their version of something.

 

Maybe it's the old USS Albatross,doesn't look like the newer version.

 

Well, there you go, I was assuming it was supposed to be a V for Victory design. Perhaps a commissioned commemorative piece that went wrong?
(It's now being sold simply as a one-off "Letter A" unset cameo by the Italian carver/maker company, no mention of military/war/Albatross at all, and no other letters available.)

 

If it were a V, the ship would be upside down. Modern Italian cameos can be weird, usually not that weird. I have a ring with monogrammed letters American seller thought were RV. We do love our recreational vehicles here. It is, of course, VR, Victoria Regina.

 

That's what I meant about "Who got fired for this one". I assumed the upside-down placement of the boat was a mistake by the carver.

 

I liked it better when I thought it was a mistake.

 

Feeling foolish for leading this thread off on a confusing tangent.

 

I was right there with you and I don't feel the least bit foolish.

Sad, mostly. Seriously, it's better at being a mistake than a cameo.

 

Sold for $499 US.

 

Wonder if that was due to unusual subject matter? Or two stubborn people decided they wanted it. Been there, done that.

In the meantime, this one sold for $650.

 

Usually a combo of the 2. Value was all in an undoubtedly unique (or, as sellers would say, very unique) character of the carving & appeal of animal subjects.

 

If it had come down in price, I would have bought it. But I like the unusual when it comes to cameos... as long as the carving is decent, too.

 

I bought a busted cameo this afternoon. She's a high relief lava; the cameo itself is fine but the case has the entire clasp busted off. Still, for $10 I figured it wasn't much of a gamble.

 

Same here. These days I'm only interested in the common subjects if the piece is signed. You've seen some of my not-so-pretty pieces. They're some of my favorites.

 

That also sounds like something I would do. I'd rather have something in less than perfect condition (for a reasonable price) that is well carved & interesting than something bland & boring, no matter how pristine & lavish the setting. Sometimes, when I go to the big antique jewellery show & express my interest in cameos, a dealer will pull out a tray with large helmet shell pretty ladies en habille, & say, How about these!, expecting me to ooh & aah. I'm not always successful at controlling my expression of distaste.

 

Today's challenge. If you spent the $1,000 to buy this, what would you have bought?

 

A nice molded glass profile badly glued on an agate beveled plaque!

 

Agreed. Although, I have to admit, I thought glass on glass-trying-to-be-agate.

Badly, badly glued.I did wonder if part of the badness was trying to replicate an aura. If that was the case, either used the wrong glue or it was glued a long time ago.