Featured CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

Thanks for the info, much appreciated!

 

Well, I watched the Bonhams auction live. Only a few of the cameos sold. The vast majority of cameos were passed, as they did not reach their bottom estimate. Many didn't even have a bid. To give you an idea of what sold and for how much, what didn't sell and the corresponding unsuccessful bid, I compiled a list. It might help you assess what your own pieces may be worth. I added the buyer's premium to the bid and converted it to US dollars. If there were unsuccessful bids, I listed the last bid (LB).

 

A few more gents for the Cameo Times Gents Board.

 

Good Heavens! What a lot of work you put in. Hope you did it primarily for your own records. Consignor must have set reserves that were way out of keeping with the market. And all those 'attributed to's... Contenders for the Alexander must have seen something there not specified in the description.

It's raining men! You turn them up so much faster than I get to pinning them. Seems like when I first began looking at cameos seriously these portrait ones were rarely offered for sale, didn't sell well, so were quite cheap. I've continued to wonder whether my starting to buy them didn't rev up the market.

 

As you may have already guessed, I am crazy about cameos. The list didn't take that long to compile. I found the bidding interesting, even if the cameos didn't sell. I was particularly interested in the John Crookshanks King cameo because I have one in my collection. Bonhams had misattributed it, and I had sent them an email with the correct information about King. They partially corrected it in the catalog listing, but then the auctioneer botched the description, saying that King was the sitter, not the carver, which was the problem with the original listing. He kept saying that the cameo should be of interested to "American bidders", because I had mentioned King was American in my email. The cameo didn't sell but got a staggering last bid of $1989. So now I know what mine might be worth.

You are correct about the reserves... the auctioneer was practically begging for bids when the bidding got even close to the reserve, and he was so relieved when something sold. It was almost comical to watch. There were also alot of micromosiacs in the auction, and they, too, had hefty reserves. But more micromosaics sold than cameos. Several sold in the $6-20K range. They were beautiful.

 

How long ago did you start buying "real people" portrait cameos? I started about 10-15 years ago, and I agree to all your points above. Now they are more prevalent and a bit more pricey. I wonder if you and I have bid against each other in the past?!

I think they are awesome and sad at the same time. The carving is usually exquisite. But, someone went through the trouble of having a loved one commemorated in shell or stone, only to have it lose it's sentimental significance and identity, resulting in anonymity 125+ years later.

 

I also wrote them about it, although probably with less detail & less certainty than you did.

Not nearly so long ago as that. Five years maybe? Time just blurs. And would not buy now at current asking prices. I generally have not bought with investment value in mind; however, not sure whether unsigned ones will have a market in future.

I wouldn't doubt it, but not lately.

 

I get that same melancholy feeling from seeing old photos of newlyweds, studio portraits of children, etc. I started doing Pinterest in large part because I wanted to make publicly available to descendants doing genealogical research a hardstone cameo by the Prussian engraver Rudolph Otto I believe is a portrait of someone who committed suicide before the SS could get her. Alas, search engines do not seem to pick up on anything but the title of the pin, & I did not want to put the family name there.

 

I am glad this forum is back up! For some reason the website didn't work for me the past week or so.

Newest addition:




@Bronwen this cameo has some white stuff on the back and front as well. Does this look like Byne's Disease to you? In the front, it looks more like lines. I washed it twice with soapy water and while in wet state, you cannot see it, once it dries up, the white stuff returns. Is there something to be done about it or is it just the way it is maybe?

 

Just the way it is. And you know she is Thorvaldsen's Day:

https://cameotimes.com/index.php/profiles-1/allegorical/day-and-night?start=2

 

It didn't work for lots of us. The security certificate for the site expired & was not renewed until about a week later. Browsers saw it as a potential risk & did not want to take you here. What I can't work out is why some Firefox users were allowed to override the caution & some, like me, were not.

 

Thank you! And that is so funny because a few weeks ago, I saw this one too, but someone bought it. I guess that would have been close to the "Night" version

 

I took a second look at the pictures and .. the seller must have set a reserve above the high estimate. My jewel hound brain went "Wait...what?????" What auction house would allow that? Unless they get paid either way of course.

 

Yes, I wondered the same thing. Maybe their client was very insistent about the reserve prices? In my opinion, the estimates were way out of line. And yet, some of the bids really surprised me. I would never pay that much for a cameo.

 

If the reserve was that high and above the estimate, it makes you wonder why the auction house would take the job. Maybe in hopes they were wrong?

 

I haven't either. I buy what I like. Luckily, my daughter likes cameos and will inherit them. I have already given her some of my cameos and antique jewelry because she likes to wear it to work.

 

Bummer. That truly is sad.

 

Sold by a male descendant who had no idea about it. It's in a cheap little brass easel mount, so I suppose he didn't see much value in it. Seller was very generous in giving me access to family histories that are on the Internet. If she is who I think she is, she was wife to this man: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Arons

Widowed, she stayed behind in Berlin when her 2 sisters & their families fled to South America. As I imagine it, they brought the cameo with them as a small, durable, portable way to have a picture of her. The only photo I have of her is as part of a group, so enlarged from something quite tiny.

 

I saw this lava cameo of Diana on Ebay and while I think its pretty, I thought that she kind of looks like a child. I guess they wanted to display the agelessness of a goddess

 

I acquired this ring this past weekend. Think it’s lovely. Any idea what era this may be? It has a 10k mark on it.