Cameo carver D S Xaveria

I have an agate cameo inscribed D.S. Xaveria. Several years ago I did some research and found out Xaveria was a female cameo carver and worked in the early 1800's. I found her name in a list of cameo carvers who submitted cameos as part of an exhibition. Unfortunately now I can no longer locate the info. Does anyone recognize this name or have any info on Xaveria? Thanks.

 

PepperAnna, would you be kind enough to post photographs of your cameo? That will help knowledgable members help you.

Debora

 

@Bronwen

 

Welcome, PepperAnna. Unfortunately, Xaveria was not included in the front line go-to reference, Leonard Forrer's Biographical Dictionary of Medalists..., so no bio info from there. Female gem engravers were few & Forrer lists some of them, Xaveria was not excluded for being female, it's just that, huge as it is, Forrer's book still missed some.

I did find this auction lot:

https://www.lotsearch.net/lot/a-fin...s-and-moss-agate-panels-24699140?locale=en_GB

The Pichlers, father Anton & 2 sons Giovanni & Luigi, were famous gem engravers. Xaveria must have been highly accomplished to have her work selected for this luxurious box.

We would definitely love to see your cameo, front & back.

 

YAY Bronwen !!!!

 

https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/a-19th-century-gold-and-hardstone-cameo-5733274-details.aspx



This made me wonder whether she was a regular supplier of cameos to Castellani, but the book I have on their archeological revival jewellery does not have her listed.

The box & brooch are really high end items, which makes me want to see your cameo all the more.

 

@komokwa

 

Great to "see" you, Bronwen!

 

Hi Bronwen, thanks for your response. I see from the threads that you have been away, so welcome back! I, too found the same information you posted as well as a reference to a cameo by Xaveria (#456) in an auction held by Tiffany's in 1902.

https://archive.org/stream/catalogueofantiq00tiff/catalogueofantiq00tiff_djvu.txt

I have attached pictures of my stone cameo. I believe it is Cleopatra. I thought about Hygeia, but there is no cup in the cameo and the snake is at her breast. It is a 1 1/8" tall and 5/8" wide - so quite small. Now that I am looking at the pictures, I need to clean it a bit better! I do love the bangle with dangling beads on her arm and the detail on the snake. There are no markings on the back, only the signature on the front.

 

Wow, you are so lucky. Does appear to be Cleopatra, although the short hair is a bit of a mystery. I have no doubt of its authenticity.

I picked up a cameo by one of the other female carvers, Teresa Talani, on eBay. May I ask how this one came to you?

Great photos. I will save them for my reference file on signed cameos.

 

Hi Bronwen, I bought this cameo at an auction about 10 years ago. It was my first agate cameo. I feel very lucky to have it. I would love to see your cameo from Teresa Talani. I don't know anything about her.

I did more research last night and found more info about Xaveria, some of which I had found before. Full name is Saveria de Simoni. She lived in Naples and was active from 1800-1830. She was a medalist, wax modeller and cameo carver. She signed her cameos Xaveria, Xaveria DS, or Xaveria de Simoni. She was one of 5 medalists who showed pieces in the 1809 Campidoglio exhibition to showcase and promote the fine arts of Rome during in the Napoleonic period. She was a supplier of cameos to Castellani (per the book "Castellani and Guiliano: Revivalist Jewelers of the 19th Century", pg 150). She is listed in the book "La Collezione Paoletti Seconda Parte" on pg 475 and in the book "Mario Praz 1896-1982 Scritti in Onore di" on pages 154-157. Both of these books are in Italian, and I am slowly translating the information. She is also listed in a "A Biographical Dictionary of Wax Modellers", pg 137, by EJ Pyke. Unfortunately, there is no page preview of her biography. I also found another cameo attributed to her. It is of Joachim Murat, who was married to Napoleon Bonaparte's sister, Caroline. He was also King of Naples for a time. The cameo is dated to 1809. You can see on this cameo she inscribed her full name.

 

Wow, wow!!! For your cameo, your outstanding pics and your researches

 

Excellent work. I'm amazed you were able to find so much. I have the 2 volumes of La Collezione Paoletti. As you probably know, pg 475 is in the bibliography in the section listing the numerous articles by Lucia Pirzio Biroli Stefanelli. I tried to find Xaveria skimming through but could not spot it.

She is in the list of gem engravers on pg 495 as De Simoni, Saveria (Xaveria) & represented by one work, an armed Perseus now lost. The impression is shown on page 325, Tomo VIII, #3. The note on pg 284 says the work is after Antonio Pichler, who was probably the Pichler who did the cameo on the box. The gem is signed in Greek. Interesting that she chose to transliterate her name using chi instead of sigma for the first letter.

I went back to check Forrer for De Simoni & Simoni, still no luck.

You can see my Leda on pg 94 of this paper on Talani by Gabriella Tassinari:

https://doi.org/10.13130/2035-4797/4720

By a happy coincidence, I was put in touch with Gabriella just when her paper had been submitted for publication. There was some delay that allowed her to make revisions & she worked Leda in at the last minute.

Talani also worked in Naples, where her husband had a shop. Gabriella, who lives in Milan, discovered some letters Talani had written to the government there when things had changed due to Napoleon's takeover. Previously no one had known the Talanis ever moved to Milan. This gave her the nucleus for the bio.

Can't quite remember, but the Talani may have been my first hardstone cameo. It was definitely my first signed one. Since have acquired a number of others.

 

Thanks, Bronwen, for the article. Your cameo is beautiful! That is one subject that I don't have as a cameo and I have always wanted it. Sorry for the mistyping- you are correct on the page #.

I am so glad I found this forum. I love cameos and have no one to talk to about them. I will have to go backwards and read all the threads. If it is ok, I will post a few more of mine that might be interesting to the group.

 

If it is OK? IF it is OK? We demand it!

 

You don’t see many cameos (well I haven’t at least) that are signed so boldly, much less on the front. Is that common?

 

It was not uncommon for gem engravers of the Georgian period to sign on the front, often using Greek letters, but you are right that doing it so conspicuously is not usual.


This kappa alpha pi (enhanced in the photo) is short for (Gaspare) Capparoni, who was also working around the turn of the 19th century. The three Pichlers & Benedetto Pistrucci dominated the period so much you barely hear about anyone else.

 

Thanks Kyratango! I find the information so interesting and I love a good hunt.

 

Is this cameo part of your collection Bronwen?

 

Yes. The diamonds have a lot of fire in better light. The seller listed it as being by KAN, not realizing the third letter was pi. The pearl at 6 o'clock was missing; cost me half what I paid for the whole thing to replace it.