Featured CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

Wow!

 

Wow, you'd think Dolce e Gabbana would use real cameos for the prices they charge, LOL.

 

I know. It's just so cheesy.

 

She's my latest .. this one goes straight to my personal collection..

 

The lyre behind her shoulder indicates that she is Erato, Muse of erotic poetry. Nice use of the color layers. Enjoy her.

 

Thank you !

 

I look at cameos longingly, but anything really nice is way out of my price point. This weekend, a local high end jeweler was going out of business and having a sale. He had bought a cameo collection and this one appealed, because it told a story. I hope Bronwen will tell me the characters. It has a tube hinge and the closure has been replaced - you can see the solder marks. I looked and didn't see a signature or mark - or maybe I don't know where to look.

 

Hardware first. That little extra piece of metal on the hinge, does it act as a spring that pushes the pin stem outward? If so, it may indicate the original clasp was of the C type. Placing tension on the pin is a mechanism to keep it from slipping out of the clasp. It's a feature of a better made piece. Obviously someone felt it needed more security.

Interesting eccentric shape.

As for the scene, the thought that comes to mind first is Salome dancing for Herod. However, I think the scene is meant to be set in Egypt. The musicians appear to be wearing Egyptian style wigs & the shape of the harps echoes those in images of Egyptian harp players,



The harp in the foreground has a decorative head that suggests the Sphinx to me.



From Wikipedia: Some women from wealthy harems were trained in music and dance. They danced for royalty accompanied by male musicians playing on guitars, lyres, and harps.[4]

Does the man lounging & being fanned in the background have a lion & a lioness or a lion & a dog below him? I'm guessing dog. Pharaohs are often depicted hunting; these would be allusions to his prowess at the hunt. The fan is right out of western fantasies of life in the Egyptian royal court. The young man standing on the right is mysterious. He wears armor & a fur collared cloak but has no weapon unless he does stick fighting.

I can't think of any tale, mythological or Biblical that would be consistent with this scene. Any ideas out there? Cleopatra did not seduce Anthony by dancing for him. And she was pharaoh; the guy in the back wouldn't be there. There may well be a painting that inspired it.

Very nicely done in helmet shell. Did the jeweller make any representation about the metal? It's a quality piece so would not be surprised if it is gold. It dates to what I am starting to think of as the Italian Cameo Revival. During the Victorian era demand for cameos became so great that anyone & everyone was making shell cameos & quality fell off. And then there was a short period, seems to have started in the 1920s & lasted...? when cameos with a modern sensibility flourished. Giovanni Noto is one name we have from that period. This is in a similar style. Noto signed his work, but this cutter was probably in his orbit.

 

Couldn't resist:

 

Closer:



The armored guy with the fancy cloak looks like a Roman intruder in the scene.

 

It’s lovely Kiko!. I can see why you bought it

 

Wow. It will take me some time to parse all this information. You are so wonderful to tell me all of this. I thought that extra spur on the pin was to stop the pin from damaging the cameo, but I checked and it keeps the pin from flopping down when it is put into the catch. It is rather large at 2 1/4 inches long and 1 3/4 inches wide, so I can understand why the catch was upgraded from a c clasp.

I think you're right about the Egyptian theme. I had no idea until you mentioned the fans. The harps' faces seem to be right also. The man with the stick seems to have a sword hanging down in the back, so I think he is armed. I can't understand him being portrayed as a prominent figure in the front unless it is telling a story of an armed visitor to the pharaoh's throne who is being permitted to gaze on the dancing woman, maybe a concubine, while the pharaoh leans back relaxing on his seat. I think you are right a lion and the dog lying at his feet.
The metal surround is sturdy, yellow and untarnished, so I am guessing gold too.
I am happy to think antique or almost with the 1920's. In this case, I was fulfilling a dream of having a beautiful cameo not so much the age. It can hang out in a display case, when not in use, but it's purpose is to go out and be in the world with me.

 

Very naughty!

 

Very close. The question is who would be allowed? There is an Egyptian guard with a stick in the background (left of center) but how would a armed Roman be allowed to view a bare breasted member of the harem dancing provocatively?

 

It was a present to myself. I needed one what with COVID messing with my life.

 

We all need presents to ourselves from time to time, enjoy your cameo, it's a beauty!

 

Thank you Marie. He had 10 or so from the same collection. All interesting in their own right. Unfortunately, one was all I could afford.

 

Glad to hear you plan to give it an outing from time to time, when outings become normal again.

Either there is a painting out there that looks like this or there is a lot of artistic license at work. There are so many literary & historical sources of imagery that I do not know. Maybe we should put the cameo in a separate thread with the title 'What is this scene?' & submit it for the collective Antiquers brain to work on.

You're making me want to see the other 8, but if you thought the 2 you showed me were the best of the lot, I would probably be disappointed. Jewellers always want to show you the big pretty ladies, en habille with a diamond stuck on. Bor-ing. Yours has character as well as characters.

 

The place was packed, so I only asked to see two. But I can go back and take pictures of the others. I don't see them selling like hotcakes. The prices of the others may be lower.

I'll take your suggestion about asking the greater range of members for ideas. That's is a good idea.

I'll ask about

 

Thanks, but only if you go for yourself. Don't make a special trip for me.