Featured My Gran's Cameo. Help Dating Please

Discussion in 'Jewelry' started by TraceyB, Nov 11, 2020.

  1. TraceyB

    TraceyB Well-Known Member

    Hello :joyful:
    Can someone please help me date this cameo brooch. It has a C clasp which I think dates it nineteenth century perhaps up to 1920?? I may be way off. I'm still learning.
    Thank you.
    :shy::shy::shy: 20201111_204436.jpg 20201111_204449.jpg 20201111_204506.jpg 20201111_204526.jpg 20201111_204544.jpg
     
    judy, kyratango, Bronwen and 3 others like this.
  2. tie.dye.cat

    tie.dye.cat Well-Known Member

  3. KikoBlueEyes

    KikoBlueEyes Well-Known Member

    judy, komokwa, TraceyB and 4 others like this.
  4. Marie Forjan

    Marie Forjan Well-Known Member

    The hinge says 20th century to me, as said above, wait for Bronwen to chime in. She will be able to date it by the cameo's design and carving :)
     
    judy, TraceyB, Figtree3 and 3 others like this.
  5. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    You guys have me blushing. For more cameo viewing, see CameoTimes.com under Profiles.

    Marie is quite right that the hinge is 20th century, mid-century, judging by the cameo, 40s - 50s. From the style of the mount, she may have been set in Italy, where the helmet shell was cut, rather than exported elsewhere for setting.

    Nice to have one from your gran. :)
     
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  6. TraceyB

    TraceyB Well-Known Member

    Thanks @Bronwen!!!
    I am pleased with this cameo. I think I have a couple of pics of Gran wearing it.
    Quick question - are the people carved into Cameos generally prominent people?
    Thanks.
    Tracey
     
    judy and Bronwen like this.
  7. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    During the heyday of cameos, from Napoleon's court to the end of Victoria's reign, subjects from mythology dominated cameos. There were of course portraits cameos. They range from very prominent, such as the badge for the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert, to portraits of tourists who went to Rome or Naples.
    https://www.pinterest.com/cameotimescom/cameo-portraits-of-victorian-ladies/
    https://www.pinterest.com/cameotimescom/cameo-portraits-of-victorian-gentlemen/

    Late in the 19th century cameos of richly dressed anonymous women began to appear. In the 1920s & 30s these shifted into idealized women influence by art nouveau. They continued on with changes to hairstyles & a preference for smaller noses. Yours is a bit unusual in that she has a straight nose, not an upturned one.
     
  8. TraceyB

    TraceyB Well-Known Member

    Wow! Thanks @Bronwen. I love that anonymous women featured late in the nineteenth century :happy:
    I checked out the male cameos in the link you provided. For some very silly reason I always assumed cameos were of woman.
    You mentioned the nose of my lady. When I looked closely I thought Greek? Can you please also tell me what the brown marks are that appear?
    Sorry for the zillion questions x
     
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  9. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    Noses on both male & female mythological figures were straight & strong in the classical & neoclassical periods. During the Victorian era cameo cutters took their inspiration from the art work of those times.

    The new century bought a shift into depicting imaginary beauties with a look more contemporary to their time. You can see that over the 20th century noses became smaller & more turned up, cute instead of classically beautiful.

    Yours is new enough to have been made at a time of the new look in noses, but cutter went with an older look, as you say, Greek.

    The brown on her curls & the orange on her chest are from the next layer of shell. They alternate brown & white.
     
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  10. TraceyB

    TraceyB Well-Known Member

    Thanks so much @Bronwen. I find this incredibly interesting. Thanks for taking the time to respond x
     
    Bronwen likes this.
  11. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    I'm sort of the resident cameo expert here, so it's my job, you might say. Cameo education is my self-appointed mission.
     
    Figtree3 likes this.
  12. TraceyB

    TraceyB Well-Known Member

    What a great mission and passion to have!
    Thanks again x
     
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