This cameo was my mother's. I'm not sure where she purchased it (I was thinking maybe Italy, but I'm probably wrong). She likely bought it in the late 1960s or early 1970s. I do recall her telling me it was Jackie Kennedy's likeness. It's marked Simmons on the clasp, no other markings that I can see. I assume it's gold filled? Is it plastic or some type of resin? I haven't found anything like it on the web. Thanks for any information you can provide.
It looks like shell to me, am I seeing that the back is curved? Let's wait for @Bronwen she knows her cameos!
Yes, the back isn't flat, slightly concave. It's smooth and shiny. And the piece is translucent. (Whitish line on the left is just light reflection.)
Thank you for that endorsement. It also looks like helmet shell to me & Marie asked the right question about curvature. As long as the concavity of the back goes edge to edge & is not a depression in the center with a flat edge around it, shell it is. Unless you know your mother was ever in Italy & prone to bringing home souvenirs, it is more likely she bought the piece in the US as it is now. The cameo itself was probably imported from Italy, purchased as part of a lot of similar ones, then turned into jewellery here. Cameos did have a revival late 50s-early 60s. Can't say whether cutter intended this as a true portrait of Jackie, but idea of how a pretty woman looked was clearly influenced by her. I have seen cameos of Princess Diana, so...
