Featured Signed cameos, please help identify the name!

Hi Anna,
I have searched the web a bit and found few signatures of Michelini which are different than mine, please see attached. I wonder if there is a book or almanac with signatures for cameo carvers that I could buy.
Is there a website where people publish their signed cameos or a database?
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Simona

 

Hi Simona,

There is no one book where all signatures can be found, unfortunately. I have started keeping examples of cameo carver signatures. @Bronwen does the same. I also have a few books, articles, and websites where I check information. As I learned more about cameos, I realized that auction houses are not the best place to find accurate information. I tend to pore over museum databases online. All the research takes time. This forum is the best place I have found to check signatures. Bronwen has been wonderful with sharing her knowledge. Aquitaine assists by greatly improving photos so that signatures can be seen more easily. She and other established members offer great insights and information as well. IMO this group is instrumental in digging out info and generously sharing it. Bronwen and others may have more suggestions for you.

With respect to the Michelini signatures you so kindly posted, the first one is Greek. I have seen this one quite often, too. I don't see a signature on the second picture you posted, but I am on my phone, not my computer. The third pic I would question if the signature is authentic or not by doing some additional research on my part. More to come!

 

First, @Simona Buhus Sorry for hijacking your thread with my woes. Nothing was really accomplished at Monday followup visit except to learn that there is going to be a hassle about paying for treatment because maxillofacial surgery is regarded as being more related to dentistry. The residents' clinic where I have been sent does not accept Medicare since M'care doesn't pay for dental stuff. Have to go back again this coming Monday for further evaluation once some of the swelling has gone down.

Back to Michelini. What I have observed is that he tended to sign a bit more legibly on hardstone than on shell.

This Isis was offered on eBay some time back. I find it difficult to accept this as a genuine signature:



One of my Michelini's was definitely set well after its creation. It has a Soviet hallmark.



And the signature on another one of mine has had extra strokes added to it, making it indecipherable unless you know M's signature well enough to pick it out from the noise.

 

Gee @Bronwen ..I hope you can get the proper treatment !!
get well soon !

 

I hope you'll get better news on monday. I also hope you are as comfortable and pain-free as possible.

 

@Bronwen...............I can only imagine what you are suffering..........and I 'm sure it's much worse than that. Hugs to you.

 

@Simona Buhus, not sure how much these will help, but here's the signature on the back of the Mary cameo.....what I usually TRY to do....brighten, strengthen, sharpen, and did also enlarge 2X....along with inverted....I also use whichever color might help bring out the signature the best.....sometimes helps/sometimes not.....I love cameos, but am not a collector....having just one!!! See if you can or maybe @Bronwen or @PepperAnna can glean any more....when I get a chance I'll look at the 3rd one!!

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Dear Bronwen,

Sorry to hear about your misfortune, I hope you are able to cope…I am praying for your fast recovery, hope to hear good news next week. At this point I think Ice packs won’t do much to help….painkillers it the only medication I can think of. Wishing you speedy recovery xx

Thank you for sharing your cameo with us, given the circumstances.

I did fine one more cameo in The Met, but no picture of the signature. I wonder if there is any way to find it, research is not my forte subject.
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Simona

 

Thank you @Aquitaine, I am literally going to clean the cameo and give a second glance tomorrow morning.
I am swamped at work this week, but next week I hope to come back to this thread with some findings.
And thank you very much for shearing how you work the images, I will give it a try (play on my phone with the settings first lol), I really appreciate your effort and time.
The only name I can make up is Kulaneg, if exists.
Kind regards,
Simona

 

I was accorded the privilege of being taken down to the Met's vaults by a couple of curators from the department of European Sculpture & Decorative Arts to see the Michelini George Washington in person. A large part of the signature is obscured by an old style acquisition number, but the visible parts were comparable to the Michelini I brought with me: looks like an EKG read out unless you know what you're looking at.

 

I agree with you about the Michelini signature oh the Isis- it looks like it was added well after the cameo was carved.

@Simona Buhus:
If you look back at some previous posts, you can see some other Michelini signatures. Bronwen was kind enough to provide a pic of hers so that I could compare to mine.

https://www.antiquers.com/threads/cameo-signature-help-needed.38228/page-35

 

He looks quite a bit like my George:

https://www.antiquers.com/posts/447951/

 

Yes, he does!

 

Think they all draw on the same primary source. Houdon, maybe?

 

@Bronwen , I just read this thread after seeing your injury mentioned in a different one. I hope your injury continues healing well, and that if you have surgery it also goes well.

 

@Bronwen @PepperAnna
No chance my George could be an unsigned Michelini?

 

I have 9 pieces signed by Michelini, all of them off of eBay & have seen others that were too pricey for me. I find it hard to believe that anything ever left his hand without being signed.

 

@Aquitaine Thank you so much.
I cleaned the Virgin Mary cameo and had a second look, I can see two signatures. Did not take any photos as I have left it to be repaired, however the first name reads Moloney, or something similar. I can’t make out anything of the second signature.once I get it repaired, will post more photos.
@PepperAnna does Moloney bring any bells?
@Bronwen, hope you are feeling better.
Kind regards,
Simona

 

Got the 3 stitches in my right eyebrow removed today, making me look a little less scary. Prevailed on doc who did it to give me a quick assessment of what's wrong with my right shoulder. Staff in ER pretty much blew it off when nothing showed in x-ray. Today's diagnosis is definitely some damage to rotator cuff & probably a (small) fracture to the scapula. I have a bruise running from the top of my shoulder down toward my armpit that I did not see until yesterday & ER never saw at all. Internet tells me that forcing the shoulder back abruptly can do the scapula damage.

The words I've been learning: avulsion; comminuted.

 

Hi again @Simona Buhus! Had some time tonight so tackled the very first cameo on the first page.....my first thoughts were I didn't see a Mu.....but then I'm NO EXPERT at reading them usually!!! But my comparison at trying to enhance it did make it a little more readable.... FIRST your original, then my enhancement: Now, it's up to you experts!!!

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