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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Bronwen, post: 12401734, member: 5833&quot;]Glad you&#039;re enjoying your visit to our little warren.&nbsp; People may not throw jewellery out, but they do bury it &amp; sometimes lose it.&nbsp; Since North America was never occupied by Roman troops, we don&#039;t find the kind of goodies that turn up in places that once were.&nbsp; E.g.,</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.antiquers.com/threads/detected-big-gold-roman-ring.93767/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.antiquers.com/threads/detected-big-gold-roman-ring.93767/">Detected big gold Roman ring</a></p><p><br /></p><p>The field of glyptics is closely intertwined with archeology.&nbsp; Intact graves of the rich &amp; powerful are the best source of info for dating, provenance &amp; the dispersion of culture in the ancient world.</p><p><br /></p><p>As evelyb30 said, a shell cameo such as yours was not likely to survive the millennia.&nbsp; But cameos of any sort are much less common than intaglios, and--although we know shells were being traded &amp; carved in prehistory-- stone &amp; glass gems are far more common than shell. </p><p><br /></p><p>Cameos are primarily ornamental, although ones with a gorgon&#039;s head were probably apotropaic (protection against evil).&nbsp; On the other hand, &amp; on the hand, an intaglio set in a ring was functional as a personal seal; the metal it was set in an indicator of status.&nbsp; They also had a fair chance of surviving over time.&nbsp; Browsing the gem impressions taken by <a href="https://www.carc.ox.ac.uk/carc/gems/James-Tassie" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.carc.ox.ac.uk/carc/gems/James-Tassie" rel="nofollow">James Tassie</a> in the late 18th century gives one an idea of their numbers.&nbsp; His impressions also record the activities of gem engravers of his own time.</p><p><br /></p><p>The English language literature on cameos from the 19th century on is not great.&nbsp; Some of it self-published, most of it in need of a knowledgeable editor.&nbsp; I gave my views in the thread we have on references, starting with this post:</p><p><a href="https://www.antiquers.com/threads/books-on-antique-and-vintage-jewelry-to-recommend.32842/#post-434526" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.antiquers.com/threads/books-on-antique-and-vintage-jewelry-to-recommend.32842/#post-434526">Books on antique and vintage&nbsp; jewelry to recommend</a></p><p><br /></p><p>There is quite a lot on engraved gems from earlier times.&nbsp; Gisela Richter, John Boardman, Charles King are some of the prominent names in that field.&nbsp; Also the two volumes of <i>La collezione Paoletti</i>.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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