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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Bronwen, post: 289654, member: 5833&quot;]<font face="Times New Roman"><font size="5">A good helmet shell cameo of the wine god Dionysus/Bacchus, crowned in grape vine, his thyrsus (pine cone-headed staff) over his shoulder.</font></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="5"><br /></font></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="5">Go easy on him.&nbsp; He&#039;s not young &amp; he has had a hard life.&nbsp; The shell has dried out &amp; is getting fragile.&nbsp; I rarely receive an antique/vintage cameo that is not in need of cleaning.&nbsp; Helmet shell in particular can get remarkably grimy.&nbsp; To soften up the grunge &amp; hydrate the shell, I usually put a piece in tepid water with a dab of dish washing liquid &amp; allow it to soak for at least a few hours, often overnight.&nbsp; I use a child&#039;s soft toothbrush, paying special attention to the crevices, edges &amp; anywhere else I have noticed accumulated crud.</font></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="5"><br /></font></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="5">If any spots remain after the toothbrush is applied energetically but not too heavily, the cameo goes back in the bath for at least another hour before having another go with the brush.&nbsp; Extensive or deeply embedded crud may require 3 or 4 rounds of this.&nbsp; Only rarely is there anything that will not come out.&nbsp; You then just have to make your peace with it.&nbsp; Think with patience you will be able to get more, probably all, off this guy.</font></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="5"><br /></font></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="5">Tried to work out whether any of the lines on the back added up to an incised signature but nothing came together.&nbsp; Most pieces are not signed.</font></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="5"><br /></font></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="5">Looks like the setting was once very pretty.&nbsp; The verdigris in spots on the back shows not all parts of the metal are silver.&nbsp; The remains of the setting are virtually valueless, maybe even a liability since they would have to be removed if someone wanted to turn the cameo back into jewellery &amp; it is not a certainty that the cameo would survive the operation.</font></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="5"><br /></font></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="5">Positives: nice version of an always popular subject.&nbsp; Negatives: poor condition of shell; not in wearable condition; setting that has no meltdown value whose removal could be the end of the cameo.&nbsp; Might be best used by having a jeweller snip off the scroll-y bits, leaving the cameo in the basic toothed bezel, then framing it as a wall decoration.</font></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="5"><br /></font></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="5">Another presentation of this subject:</font></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="5"><br /></font></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="5">[ATTACH=full]93607[/ATTACH] </font></font>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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