Featured CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

Absolutely.. please let me know if you need better pictures..

The brown stuff fells like wax, the yellow thing underneath feels like some sort of plastic..

Thank you ! It's funny because I bought the lot for a totally different piece which proved in the end to be a fail.. and I thought that my guy is just plastic (didn't have pictures of the back and he was dirty too)

Hey, I've just figured it out how to quote parts of an entire message.. mind blowing for me !

 

Photo is fine, I can crop it, etc. Thanks for permission to add to my gallery.

It could well be wax, quite likely in fact, if this was a non-professional attempt to salvage the piece. I can't distinguish 'the yellow thing' out of the rest, but doubt it would turn out to be plastic if the piece were disassembled. In the photo guess that's what's causing the tortoiseshell look around the upper inner edge?

I had to be taught how to use the quote feature. To your credit if you figured it out on your own.

 

You can see your boy at the head of the line:

https://www.pinterest.com/cameotimescom/cameo-portraits-of-victorian-gentlemen/

 

Yes, that's the yellow stuff..

He's so proud, thank you !

It was entirely by mistake.. and now I'm afraid I'm going to over use it..

 

Many years ago I was watching a programme about the hermitage. The curator pulled open a drawer and said 'these are Catherine the great cameos" I gasped. Then just as fast she closed it, before I had a chance to focus. Have you seen the collection?

 

I go to the Hermitage's web site with its on line collection now & then. It's a bit awkward to use. I also have some Russian language books I can't read other than photo captions that show there greatest ancient & modern treasures.

Catherine's collection is legendary. She scooped up everything she could manage to acquire & she acquired a lot from nobility that went broke. She also secured James Tassie's success by ordering a complete set of the gem impressions he was making in glass, as well as in less expensive materials. She also ordered a custom cabinet to hold them. It is still in the museum. If you go back to this section of the thread, you will read about how a cameo I bought on eBay led to communication with Julia Kagan, the grande doyenne of the engraved gems world, now still working from home for the Hermitage. A high point of my collecting career for sure.

 

For everyone, the cameo of a figure in an elaborately decorated helmet is Catherine herself.

 

That pic is just a small part of the collection. As she was closing the drawer I was reaching out to the telly and going "no no "

 

Been a while since I've been on here, unfortunately. Haven't had much luck antiquing lately and have been struggling with some depression. Hope everyone is doing well.

I have a couple new cameos to share. One is in what I believe is a jet frame. I looked at it under a loupe and it does not appear to be ivory; no striations. I am almost inclined to think it is plastic of some kind, but it has a Victorian style C-clasp and bar hinge.

The other was sold as sardonyx and was a gift to myself for getting into a MFA program (although it's now uncertain whether or not I'll be able to go in the fall). It's set in 10k gold. I'd love an idea of its age, and a suggestion for how I might be able to safely clean it (Some grime ingrained in the lines) or restore the stone's luster.

 

As for cleaning the ring, I would just put it in some tepid water with a bit of dish washing liquid, let it soak a good while, then go at it with a soft toothbrush. I have done the same thing with many shell cameos, so you know there's no problem doing it with hardstone. Do not put it in an ultrasonic cleaner.

The first one is interesting, both cameo & frame. Think there is no doubt the frame is jet. The way the findings on the back are screwed directly into the material is something you really only see in ivory, jet, & bog oak, natural materials. So that is one very fancy jet mount.

It is hard for me to assess the cameo from the one photo & without being able to handle it, although my sense is that you are correct about its not being ivory. Celluloid is a possibility. That would have a hollow quality when raised spots tapped with a fingernail. However, I have a wonderful cameo of Bacchus that is ivory set in jet, so it does happen.

If you want to clean this lady up (she is a Hera type) you will want to be very careful. Soaking definitely out. If she were mine, I would put a small dab of toothpaste on her, then rub it in & around with a fingertip. I would rinse under running water holding the piece sideways to the stream & just touching the cameo to the water & using a fingertip to help move the toothpaste off. It won't be disastrous if some water gets on to other parts. I just wouldn't want it to stay long. Pat dry & then let air dry well.

I had my own hiatus from the site for several weeks for similar reasons. Think we all understand.

 

It is hard to know whether cameos of this type are Hera, a Roman empress, or a Roman empress in the guise of Hera.



This guy was sold as Celluloid. I was sure he wasn't, going by photos. Most other bidders must have taken the auctioneers at their word because there was little competition. When he arrived & I could handle him, I thought at first that my gamble had not paid off. Tapping here & there produced a sound more like plastic. Careful examination of the cameo convinced me he was indeed ivory & knew he would not have been set in plastic. Jet mount is broken & some glue happy soul had a go at fixing it.

 

Hey, Bronwen. Glad you are doing well. Thank you so much for your post.

I did as you suggested and gently cleaned the jet cameo with tooth paste. Using a loupe again, I was able to make out faint //// striations at the bottom of the head, where the rim of the veil is, as well as on the edge of the cameo where a piece of the jet border is missing so that I can see the cameo's rim. The striations don't form a cross-hatching pattern as far as I can tell, and aren't visible anywhere else on the piece.

Any thoughts on the age of the ring?

 

That could be Celluloid, which was used as an ivory simulant & given striations, much more regular than those in real ivory, to suggest the real thing.

It's unusual in having 3 busts instead of 2. The fancy term for the way they are arranged is 'jugate'.

There are cameo masterworks of the ancient world that have 3 identifiable figures, such as a succession of 3 caesars, but these are just generic figures. The one in front always looks like a helmeted hero; the others are typically ambiguous.

As for age, men's rings with cameos of this type were made over a stretch of time in the 20th, so the cameo itself is little help in dating. That ornamentation on the shoulders in different color metals is distinctive, bit of a deco vibe, & maybe another member will have a more definite opinion. I can only suggest 1930s - 1950s.

 

This piece is Celluloid:

 

Interesting cameos Barn. Can we see them when they are washed and spiffy?
Does the ring have different colour gold on the shoulders or is it a trick of the light?
Can you narrow the date of the brooch down at all?.

Hope you are feeling better now, I have a close family member who has struggled with the Black Dog for years and it's the devil at times. This forum has been and still is a sanctuary for me when it's at it's darkest. All shops are shut here so no opportunities to go hunting either. It's giving me a nudge to sort through what I've got already and decide what's going, whats staying and what needs mending. It's a bit like hunting all over again as I keep finding stuff I stashed out of sight from the OH!. I'm getting my fix from looking at eBay etc ( shhh....and buying a few bits to keep myself sane). Hoping the post keeps going.
Ive also started spring cleaning the house which hasn't been done for far too many springs so I need LOTS of pretties to look at on here to cheer me up!. Keep posting

 

Heard that. My sister just called, looking for fabric for masks. I went through my quilt hoard and filled a shopping bag. Found stuff I'd forgotten I had. The jewelry hoard has to get gone through too.

 

This ring really does defy description:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/153844944108

 

Random subject matter!.
I like the snake, he's cute.