Featured CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

Jewelers are really terrible with cameos... There's no certification that covers them that I know of. I've seen many jeweler cases with incorrect assessments.

If you want to get hooked on collecting them, Bronwen's site is the 101 primer with advanced studies! And the thread she started here, coupled with the cameo signatures thread, is the Masters program!

 

Speaking of errors auction houses make, it is of course Zeus, not Hercules.

For some Sunday morning (EST) eye candy, the catalogue with the Tignani Zeus & the Gabrielli Queen Victoria (page 110) is a treat:

https://www.calameo.com/read/00542329228810429bae7

It's one of the best Tignanis I have yet to see, unusual for him to work in more than one color layer, but the mount with what look like some pretty good emeralds, and the provenance are what drove the price up. Probably bought as an investment rather than out of a love for cameos.

 

Don't you just love when that happens. I found I had bought several signed pieces early on, before I even knew to check. Sellers were of course equally clueless.

 

I agree, the Zeus cameo is the best Tignani I have ever seen. There were some beautiful pieces of jewelry in that auction, both cameo and non-cameo. I especially liked the butterfly pin, the seed pearl parure and the lizard bracelet.

 

Thank you for bringing Gabrielli out of the shadows. Have saved your work to my signatures file.

The Countess of Rosebery & her children look like shell to me, not hardstone. Did someone say something about errors by prominent auction houses?

 

Huge thanks to everyone for helping me keep my money in my pocket. I love these boards!

 

Good decision!
I'm afraid I think her nicely carved but unexceptional. And all those cracks...! The 22K claim is surprising, too... If true, the value is in the setting, in this case.
JMHObservation, but conch shell cameos don't seem to be very popular as, and often don't bring in as much money as, coral or stone or even helmet shell... unless they are falsely advertised as coral (or stone in your case). And they are definitely often misidentified as coral! I, however have a penchant for conch shell cameos. One of my favorite cameos in my collection is a conch shell cameo of Telemachus.

 

Ah yes, this is the kind of Christmas catalog I would actually accept ANY gift out of! That little grotesque pin is so adorable. The micro mosaics and pietra dura...ugh so stunning.

The lizard!!! And it unattaches at the mouth!! The little LEGGYS.

 

I still don't have a conch cameo because though they are numerous, so are the poorly carved ones, and when there's finally a well carved one the seller thinks they're coral and prices them high. Thrill of the hunt and all that...can't find the perfect pieces all at once! I think the pink hues are very charming and can be used to great effect, even if they don't have the high contrast of other shells/stones.

(Psst you can repost your fav ones. It's like when someone mentions a pet and then must pay the "tax" with photos. Cameo Tax cause you mentioned yours. )

 

Well, since you say so...
I love the slight blush on his cheek!
(The pink of the conch shell is just a bit more noticeable to the naked eye, it doesn't show well in the photos below.)

 

It's the subtle pink that really MAKES it. It's such a unique piece to find. Thanks for sharing!

 

The other favorites in my collection: Queen Victoria in a newer 1970s gold setting, and George Washington in a modified flip (can't think of the proper word) pinchbeck? setting.

 

You are welcome! Yes, the unset cameos are all shell, not hardstone. I am so glad I know the difference!

 

That is a beautiful cameo, @bluumz! Lucky you!

 

Both of these are lovely. You have such a nice collection.

 

Thank you!

 

These are so great! It's so nice to have cameos of real, known people. Queen V's little crown is so great.

 

For a split instant I thought you were talking about Queen the Fifth.

I love conch shell cameos because of the scope they give for fairly high relief. A mediocre cameo is a mediocre cameo in any medium, but good conch shell pieces really can be little sculptures. Think I have shown this one many times, The Dipping of Achilles:




And, in the spirit of the season:



Was looking through some of my cameos to see if there were any that had not been seen here others might enjoy. Didn't decide on anything, but discovered that some are in really nice settings. I'm always so focused on the cameos themselves.

 

All the elements in the scene add up to that. Neat to find a work and the documentation. Any link for the cameo?

 

Presumably Rebecca and Eliezer & his camels. The camel with its head lifted reminds me of Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent.