Featured CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

The difficulty is that there really is no literature, at least not in English, that delves into lava production. I even bought a little book about volcanoes to try to get a better understanding.

My suspicion is that the use of molds in the creation of 'lava' pieces was not something the factories wanted to make public.

That is what I have imagined, a kind of slurry. Vesuvius blasts up through a limestone 'shield' that is part of the geology of the region, so the ash may have some properties similar to plaster of Paris.

The Cameo Times article in its current state tries to show what to look for to confirm a piece is actually hand carved lava, but I have yet to figure out any sure fire way to detect molding other than the gestalt & gut sense you develop after handling many pieces.

I was more successful with explaining dripstone & differentiating it from lava.

 

For now I am just going to show this & invite comments:



The long diagonal lines on the back are more like veins; they are not cracks.

 

First off: Beautiful and I'd pick it up! It's a really pleasing sculpt. Great face and hair. Even the folds are well done.

Construction-wise, this is the sort of thing that looks sculpted to me. The roundness of all the edges and overly smooth areas. If a mold, it would need carving after the fact in places like the hair and the hair is more round and less sharp to me in the "cuts". I just think it would be more expedient to sculpt a clay made of the local rock and certainly someone would employ that method. I guess we'll have to keep digging.

The back "cracks"...look like they have a drop shadow? Which makes it look like there's a film over the back that "cracked" but you can see if light changes that look.

 

That's gorgeous. I'd buy it. I believe that's done by hand.

Since you wrote that piece (silly me), my thought is something to think about. I see the plaques all the time. The mold is great, but the piece looks common. I've seen lava cameos that are extremely similar in their design. But, because they're all hand done, they have differences. From your own article, the back of this one (as well as mine and the first one you showed) all have the chisel marks on the back. You don't see that on a plaque, there's nothing to chisel.

I bow to your expertise. I've just never seen a lava brooch marked as molded.

 

I bought this cameo brooch for 50 cents in a little small town thrift store last week. I've done some online research, but still have some questions.



I cleaned it as much as I could, but am wondering if there's a safe way to get the remaining dirt out of the deep pits. I also need help with how to clean up the mess of glue on the back.



I appreciate any help you can provide.

 

I meant to ask if it's Georgian or Victorian instead of Edwardian. Seems like it's older than Edwardian?

 

u can't pull a cameo from the front..

 

I guess that means it can't be removed at all unless a jeweler removes the extra solder on the back. The back is such a mess--I'd like to at least clean up the glue, which is all over the back of the gold setting too. P.S. I don't think the cameo is worth paying a jeweler to remove it and clean up the back.

 

it's a nice..on 14k , and signed...... maybe better than you give it credit for...

 

Thanks, komokwa, I appreciate your opinion.

 

.........

 

It's Victorian shell carving in an archeological revival frame. The C-clasp was replaced with a 20th c. rollover for safety; It's pretty common on these. The "rod" is part of the original Victorian mount and probably a piece of lead or metal solder. Yes, solder blob was for maintaining the mount. No, the cameo wouldn't be removed from the front.

You might have two types of glue. There's usually brittle stuff, which would have been some sort of animal glue, applied under the frame edge. The lake of glue looks like a later attempt that was probably a type of super glue...and it's clearly flaking.

Put a drop or two of dish soap in a small bowl of room temp water and let him soak. Then you can use a clean toothbrush to get the gunk out of crevices and probably loosen old glue. It may take a few soakings and/or brushings. If I have particularly stubborn stuff in the carving then I'll use magnification and a needle or dental tool to gently push against the crud (not the carving) and pop it out. You can also use a dental tool or sculpting tool, etc. to try coaxing the soaked glue out. I usually have no problem with the animal glues, but the super glue may come up with a gentle pressure on the edge to lift it in pieces, after it's been soaked.

I haven't had to re-glue a cameo so I'd have to think on that. The organic material is easy, but metal more difficult, and you don't want anything that would color the carving. I've seen some old repairs done with wax which is an interesting option.

He could be Apollo but I wonder if he's not Adonis or similar type. Bronwen will probably know straight away. He's likely to be based on a sculpture or previous carving.

I don't think they've identified that signature but I swear I've seen others with it...

All n all a great find for $.50!! Can't beat that. What a nice find.

 

Thank you so much, Mirana, for answering all of my questions with such detailed and helpful information. I'll start with soaking the brooch in a drop or two of dish soap in room temperature water. Before I took the photos I tried using a stiff brush, toothpick and straight pin with magnification to get the remaining dirt out, but will try again after soaking (I even have a dental tool I can use as you suggested).

I'm not familiar with the term "archeological revival" jewelry, so am glad to add that to my vocabulary. I collect mainly 20th century costume jewelry, but do have some older pieces. After looking at Google images of archeological revival jewelry, I think I may have a few pieces.

I looked online for cameos and other images of Adonis, and couldn't find many. I've shown the closest example below compared to another Apollo-labeled cameo, with mine in the center--I guess it could be either?

 

The 2 cameos you show for comparison are based on the Apollo Belvedere, but your guy is undoubtedly also Apollo. As for the signature, don't I wish I could ID it. This large cameo of the Muse Melpomene is in my collection:



[Edit] The signatures are not identical, but have to think they are the same name. An abbreviation perhaps, the way what looked like 'Silz' turned out to be a contraction of 'Schmoll' with a flourish at the end.

 

Perfect timing, Bronwen. I've been side tracked for a couple of weeks helping a family member and kind of forgot about my cameo. But I'm dog sitting today and thought I'd check in.

I really appreciate your information confirming the guy is Apollo. And also seeing your cameo of the Muse Melpomene with a similar signature, and that you think it could be the same name--"a contraction of 'Schmoll' with a flourish at the end."

I googled Schmoll cameos and found examples and information on Charles Schmoll. Most of the links lead right back here, so I'll do more reading. Thank you again, Bronwen.

 

All info about Charles Schmoll comes back to here as it's origin from @Bronwen raising the issue of his strange abbreviated signature (s) and @Jivvy doing some digging. You can read the unfolding of the mystery starting here.

So I think she's saying the signature on yours may be a similar situation where an artist or dealer has abbreviated their name in signature. We may only be able to crack it if we found a longer, un-abbreviated example, if that were the case. Or possibly a bill of sale, stamped box, etc. with an example piece. There were a lot of carvers listed in the guides.

 

Thank you, mirana, I read the information on your link to Bronwen's and Jivvy's knowledge and research--at least far enough to see there's much more to know about cameos than I'll ever learn. I only have 2 or 3 antique hand-carved cameos, since I rarely run across anything in my price range. But I'll have to check here every now and then to see if there's any new information on Charles Schmoll, although I understand now he's not the guy who carved my cameo.

 

You're welcome. Were always happy to take a look and help. This thread alone is like taking a undergraduate in the subject! I tease the signatures thread is like a master's class. My budget is definitely lower than some here but I spend a good amount of time digging to find treasures and hanging out here to live vicariously through others.

 

Hi all, the first cameo was posted on a Facebook board asking who the woman with Athena is. I posted a second similar cameo that could be Aphrodite or Hera. Then I saw similar ones stating they were Ares and Aphrodite. Thoughts?

 

Listed and sold as Ares and Aphrodite