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Featured Cameos, one signed, please help!

Discussion in 'Jewelry' started by Simona Buhus, Jun 17, 2025.

  1. Simona Buhus

    Simona Buhus Well-Known Member

    Good evening everyone,
    It’s been a while….hope everyone is doing well! ❤️
    I’ve got few cameos recently, I wonder if you can help identify the subjects, age and signature. Most of them are set in 9 carat gold.
    On Aurora and Cupids cameo there are 2 signatures, one possible Michellini and another one that reads Parafini to me.
    The Athena brooch is set in sterling silver, I wonder what is that mask on her head, it looks like a human face. Also the frame is very different than any other cameo I have, the frame has some marcasite set into it. I have now cleaned the Athena brooch and don’t like it as much, that’s a first, lol.
    Thank you all.
    Simona
    @Bronwen @PepperAnna @mirana @Debora @Any Jewelry @bercrystal

    IMG_5364.jpeg IMG_5365.jpeg IMG_5366.jpeg IMG_5367.jpeg IMG_5369.jpeg
     
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2025
    Kate Q, Aquitaine, Houseful and 11 others like this.
  2. bosko69

    bosko69 Well-Known Member

  3. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    Whoa! The face on Diana's helmet looks like a Green Man, odd as that seems to me. It should be a lion.
     
  4. mirana

    mirana Well-Known Member

    Wow what a great collection you've amassed while you've been gone! :D

    I can't tell who the M signature is from this photo...it also looks like maybe more writing on the left?

    Top left to right, my best guesses before Bronwen tells us all :D:
    - Hmm with the lyre it looks like Muses Erato or Terpsichore. Turn of century 1900 if that's a locking clasp.
    - Bacchus 19th c.
    - A woman in mourning in front of a grave. 19th with replacement clasp (?)
    - Victoria/Nike I think, but my brain can't remember of top of head where the original image is from. I love the carving of the horses. 19th c.
    - Venus riding a dolphin. 20th c.
    - This Aurora(?) piece is my favorite. They're all good but this one is stunning! Interesting that she and some of her attendants have Psyche butterfly wings instead of the normal feathered. What kind of clasp?
    - Athena needed a bath for sure...she got really grody. :yuck: That frame is a lot of fun and makes her 20/30s.
     
  5. bosko69

    bosko69 Well-Known Member

    Reviewed some of Simon's past postings-a fine history of Joolie glory Sir !
     
    Simona Buhus and mirana like this.
  6. Gus Tuason

    Gus Tuason Well-Known Member

    I pretty much go by the clasps. I would peg the 3 large one to prior to 1900. The two smaller ones after 1900.
     
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  7. mirana

    mirana Well-Known Member

    Replacing C-clasps with safety rollover clasps was a common thing. They were sold as individual pieces so you can usually tell straight away if they've got a little base under them. Hard to tell from these photos. Style of the frames and cameo, as well as common scenes helps in dating too.
     
  8. Aquitaine

    Aquitaine Is What It IS! But NEVER BORED!

    Enhanced a bit, however I can't say WHO!!! Tagging @Bronwen!!
    Very Nice collection though!!!

    IMG_5367.jpg
     
  9. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Some real beauties there, Simona!:happy:
    Ditto. Most jewellers overhere soldered the clasp as is, without the pad, which is beautiful but makes it more difficult to spot as a replacement. There are other way though, like a minute difference in colour due to different alloy percentages.
     
    Aquitaine, Simona Buhus and mirana like this.
  10. Simona Buhus

    Simona Buhus Well-Known Member

    Thank you so much for sharing. I will add more close up photos tomorrow. I wonder if anyone came across the name Parafini as a carver? What is your take on it?
    Kind regards,
    Simona
     
    mirana and Any Jewelry like this.
  11. Simona Buhus

    Simona Buhus Well-Known Member

    @Bronwen @PepperAnna any thoughts?
    @Aquitaine @mirana @Any Jewelry
    @evelyb30 @bosko69
    As promised, please see below
    IMG_5801.jpeg IMG_5802.jpeg IMG_5803.jpeg IMG_5804.jpeg IMG_5805.jpeg IMG_5806.jpeg IMG_5807.jpeg IMG_5808.jpeg IMG_5809.jpeg
     
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2025
    komokwa, Any Jewelry and mirana like this.
  12. Simona Buhus

    Simona Buhus Well-Known Member

  13. Curioser

    Curioser Well-Known Member

    Fabulous cameos! And the photos are superb! Do you use your phone? I think the Parafini is a strong contender.
     
  14. Simona Buhus

    Simona Buhus Well-Known Member

    Yes, I use my phone for taking photos, the usual settings, just cropped them, that’s all.
     
  15. Simona Buhus

    Simona Buhus Well-Known Member

    Dear @mirana
    I hope this message finds you well.
    I wonder if you could share your expertise in research methodologies. I have observed your proficiency in this area and would be grateful for any guidance you could offer regarding effective strategies for searching the web and academic journals, specifically for information pertaining to "Parafini."
    My initial attempts have included using Google Books and searching with the Italian term "intagliatore di cammei" and the French term "graveur de camées," but these efforts have not yielded relevant results.
    I would appreciate it if you could provide some starting points or suggest specific academic journals that might be pertinent to this subject. I am prepared to undertake the necessary legwork for the research once I have some initial direction.
    Thank you.
    Kind regards,
    Simona
     
  16. mirana

    mirana Well-Known Member

    Ooh you give me too much credit. It would be perhaps better to ask @PepperAnna when she's around, as she is very good in searching old guide books and similar. What I've learned, I gathered from reading the Cameo Signatures thread and paying special attention to what @Jivvy and others' methods were. I tend to scour museums and auctions and save example images to build up a visual library of known carvers. If I had a signature that was unknown but more complete, then I would do deeper work, but so far all my signed cameos have been figured out through here, or are real short and we haven't figured them out yet. :confused:
     
    Any Jewelry likes this.
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