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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Bronwen, post: 10424278, member: 5833&quot;]<i>Mirabile dictu</i>, DHL did actually make good on its projection of getting the cameo pendant I bought in a London auction to me by the end of the day yesterday, despite the package&#039;s having to get through customs.&nbsp; I had to do my bit, responding promptly when e-mails came in, both in the wee hours my time, demanding first, documentation of my social security number and address, &amp; then payment of the tariff, along with an assortment of lesser fees.&nbsp; As I have moaned already, it was no bargain, but I am happy with it.</p><p><br /></p><p>I am not, as a rule, a fan of &#039;blackamoor&#039; pieces, but they are a genre within the field of glyptics, and I don&#039;t think their makers intended anything derogatory by them.&nbsp; These particular cameos are a sub-genre within the genre.&nbsp; More often than not, they are misidentified as hardstone when they are actually some type of bivalve shell I have yet to identify.&nbsp; While I do not believe they are portraits of actual individuals, they are more &#039;everyday&#039; depictions rather than the exoticized Nubian royalty <i>en habillé</i> types.</p><p><br /></p><p>In truth, I could have done without the diamonds, which appear to have been added in a later iteration.&nbsp; The cameo itself is in almost a little capsule, held by tripartite prongs, a bit like little paws.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]524609[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]524610[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]524611[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]524612[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>There is an indentation on the back that looks a lot like a punch mark but nothing legible there:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]524613[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>The auction house made no representation about the metal.&nbsp; Other than the loop of the bail, which does look to be gold, guessing the rest is mainly gold-washed silver.&nbsp; Any other suggestions appreciated.</p><p><br /></p><p>Once I had him in my hands I felt a little more understanding of the auction house specialist&#039;s insistence that the piece is hardstone. I don&#039;t doubt this type of shell was used because it was such a good mimic of layered agate, and when the mount hides the back &amp; edges of the material, some of the clues that it is otherwise are also hidden.&nbsp; This one has a feature I had not encountered on my several other pieces of the type: the white layer used for the cap/head wrap is more nacreous, smoother &amp; shinier, than the more matte surfaces of the other colors, more easily mistaken for stone.</p><p><br /></p><p>I had taken an interest in these &amp; the mysteries of their making some years back.&nbsp; When one turned up on a bejewelled &amp; engraved elephant tusk from the 16th century, I became even more intrigued.&nbsp; I have shown the others in my collection before, but for easier comparison:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]524614[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]524615[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]524616[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>The new guy &amp; the second &amp; third ones above are all almost exactly 2cm in height; the guy in the turban is a couple of mm taller.</p><p><br /></p><p>The range of subjects I ever see in this shell is quite limited.&nbsp; Another category seems to be Roman emperors.&nbsp; My one other belongs in this group:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]524617[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>This one is larger, just shy of 3.5 cm.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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