Mother of Pearl cameo

Found at a fair today, I thought it was quite a pretty one. Pendant marked 800, the chain is marked Metal.

Just wondering about age, my guess is 20s - 30s am I close?

 

Generally these carved MoP cameos, I'm not sure if they count as real cameos btw, are 1980s or later. The .800 silver case means she probably was made in Italy. The chain probably isn't related. It looks like the link says Met-something. My guess is it's German and was added at a later date.

 

Hi evelyb30, the chain link just says Metal

 

Gold or silver-plated then. The Germans used to make them that way.

 

The figure is raised, not just engraved in, so she's a cameo.

I looked back through the file I have of wholesale catalogue pages for cameos, starting with the 1920s. Pretty lady with a corsage on her shoulder reigned for a long time. It was not until 1962 that I saw a hairstyle similar to your lady's, along with the now ubiquitous "Headband Girl."



It's not proof that they were not around earlier, but the first MOP pieces I have documentation for are from 1970.



Silver settings with marcasites were big in the 1930s, although generally with more stones than this. I'd say the piece was retro in its day; genuinely vintage now.

 

Thank you Bronwen, interesting. I clearly need to do some reading about cameos lol

 

There is a long and informative Cameo thread.

https://www.antiquers.com/threads/cameos-show-tell-or-ask-answer.23493/

 

Thank you, yes I have seen it but hadn't read much of it as I didn't have any cameos until now I will endeavour to work my way through it....it may take a while....

 

Other than the answer to the question of what to look for when buying cameos that comes near the beginning, it may be less of a chore if you just scroll through until you see a photo that catches your attention & read the commentary about that.

Another thread that is chock full of info you won't find elsewhere (except where lifted from this site) is: Cameo Signature Help Needed

Same advice applies, dip in & out.