Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Bronwen, post: 11899176, member: 5833&quot;]That&#039;s a lot to digest.&nbsp; And I&#039;m always interested in learning more, so would love to have the reference for information on changes in technology employed.</p><p><br /></p><p>As far as I know (&amp; the technology has not been my main area of interest over the years so I may not know much) until the use of electricity became widespread, machinery for grinding &amp; drilling was driven by foot power, the artisan pedaling or spinning a wheel with the feet, technologies that date back centuries.&nbsp; The use of corundum, &amp; even diamond dust to provide abrasion also dates back centuries.&nbsp; In short, I do not believe that techniques for gem engraving changed very much over the 19th century, as I doubt the cameo-making industry would have been among the first to electrify.&nbsp; The tools for working shell are the same now as they were 150 years ago.</p><p><br /></p><p>I would attribute differences between individual pieces more to:</p><ul> <li>Skill of the artisan</li> <li>Preferred techniques of the artisan</li> <li>Artistic standards &amp; personal taste of the artisan; quality a piece needs to attain before the artisan is willing to put it on the market</li> <li>Time available for making a piece</li> <li>Financial pressure that may have dictated how much time could be spent on a single piece</li> <li>Labor assistance, or lack thereof, in the form of apprentices</li> </ul><p>I can think of other things, but these would have been major factors determining stylistic &amp; technical differences.&nbsp; I don&#039;t think one can assume that all these things were equal among makers of a given time period or that technology available accounts for major differences.</p><p><br /></p><p>A major element that did change with time was demand from the buying public: the volume of work required to meet demand;&nbsp; the subjects &amp; materials they wanted; the amount they were willing to pay.</p><p><br /></p><p>The use of a drill to deepen &amp; round out curls is a technique (employing an ancient technology) I have noted in work of the later 19th/early 20th century.&nbsp; Subtle here, but I have seen Hercules with a head full of little drill holes to make his curly hair.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]549833[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>I think your piece is lovely, &amp; may well have been a personal portrait of a lady styled to look like Ariadne or a maenad/bacchante.&nbsp; It was a popular thing to do.&nbsp; I could comfortably put her to the 1870s.&nbsp; Antonio Vergé appears to have been still active then, so not an impossibility, but I&#039;m not convinced it&#039;s likely.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in