Featured Stone Cameo ring, need help!

Good morning,
And a Happy new year to everyone!
I have missed everyone on this forum so much, and I apologise for being absent for so long.
There are so many things I would like to share…
This is a ring I bought a while back, is quite unusual, looks very old. It is made of sterling silver, not hallmarked, and the stone may be agate.
It looks like there are two people in the depiction, one in orange and one behind in white. The orange one looks like a warrior.
I would appreciate your thoughts on age, stone material and the depiction.
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Simona
@Ownedbybear @Any Jewelry @PepperAnna @Bronwen
@KSW

 

Looks like the stones may be carnelian glued to onyx.

 

Hi, Simona. Good to have you back. Yes, cameo is stone & I think it is probably all one piece, although I can see why Holly would think glue was involved. It's not hard to get a piece of natural layered chalcedony & dye it to these colors. Are you able to catch a fingernail under the edge anyplace the figures meet the ground layer? What looks like excess glue oozing out may instead be a little of the background layer that is left around delicate features such as noses, or tendrils, to help keep them from chipping off. This already looks like it has had the bashing around rings are liable to.

When 2 profiles overlap this way it is called a jugate composition. (Think conjugal.) Cameos like this are a standard in men's rings, bearing some anonymous warrior/hero in the foreground & some even more anonymous female behind him.

 

Thank you so much!
I have tried to take few close up photos of where there is a chip on the stone to give a better idea of the material.
It looks to me that it’s all one pice, there is no visible glue, in between the layers there is a bit of shine, but does not look like glue. It is very interesting how this was carved as the top orange layer it is thin, just the top, but the way it was carved gives the impression in real life that is a thicker material.

It looks to me hand made silver settings @Bronwen I wonder what are your thoughts on the age of the ring? and Where was it made?

Finally, the ring size is very small, UK size M, could we presume that this may have been made for a lady?

 

I also found this Mars and Venus cameos that looks exactly like mine, could it be a possibility?
I can see the bearded man with a shield and a helmet.


https://www.ancient-art.co.uk/roman-empire/exquisite-white-coral-cameo-of-mars-and-venus/

Others:
https://images.app.goo.gl/UmSUmYF839dHPpZk6

 

The stone is mounted in an Art Deco style.
The Renaissance Revival decoration of the band is something you see in Hungary and on older Bohemian/Czechoslovakian rings.

A combination of Art Deco settings and Hungarian RR style is also seen on some Zoltan White rings.
Zoltan White was a Budapest trained silversmith who migrated to the UK.
Although Zoltan White pieces are sometimes unmarked, they are usually more finely finished than yours.
I have seen a Zoltan White cameo ring before, but I can't say for sure that yours is by Zoltan White. I would expect more finesse.

 

Thank you for sharing, stated to look for Zoltan White jewellery, beautiful!
I wonder if there is any possibility that this could be a real Renaissance ring as it seems to me that the silver metal layers are build on top of each other and very cleverly catches with claws. This ring does not look like it has been casted in one piece of silver. I just wonder if the ring casting was available around 1920, why would one make something entirely by hand.
If not, could you educate me with a link to read or perhaps a comparison between two rings.
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Simona

 

It isn't a Renaissance ring.

Ring casting has been around for a very long time, and was certainly done around 1920.

Your ring was cast.
Sometimes rings are hammered and cut from a block or sheet of metal, that is still done by some artisans. But your ring was definitely cast.

 

Lovely, thank you so much, I need to train my eye and read more on the subject.

 

My assumption is that it is a man's pinkie ring, which accounts for how it got so knocked around.

You could see it that way, as War & Love, although the maker may have had no such thought. The possibility that I see is that the description of that one as Roman coral is utter BS & that the reason it looks so much like yours is because it is of similar age.

These rings seem like a 1950s thing to me, just general impression, once signet rings were on the wane.

 

Lovely, thank you so much, sounds good to me, for now is a keeper.
Best wishes,
Simona

 

Agreed with the others. This looks around 20/30s-ish to me in cameo and ring style. Cast...yes. One piece of dyed agate...yes.

This Warrior Type image was mass produced on grand scale for decades in 20th c. You can probably find hundreds of versions of him on eBay. He was The Type ring for gents, like the Pretty Lady was The Type for women's jewelry for decades. Sometimes by himself, or in dual portrait like this. Mid-century-ish on you start seeing him as a very quick intaglio image in onyx and hematite, instead of in cameo.

Like AJ said, casting jewelry has been around since ancient times. You look for mold lines, shallow-shaped design areas instead of sharply cut or hammered, rough openwork, etc.

People still make jewelry by hand today as well. Artisan crafts are really beautiful. You can look up the Arts and Crafts movement to see pieces that were made without casting around the time your ring was made.