Time for Cameos

As I wrote in my profile, I am passionate about all things cameo. Before I ever saw cameos as anything other than jewelry for little old ladies, I loved minerals, shells & classical mythology. It was as illustrations of the myths that cameos first got my attention.
After acquiring my share of modestly priced 'pretty lady' cameos, I began to venture into the more interesting, somewhat more expensive pieces, at first mainly cameos of the goddess Diana.



For a long time I stayed with shell pieces. Then the fatal event. With no expectation of winning it, I put in the minimum bid, all I could afford, on a hardstone cameo of Leda and the Swan. The auction was uncontested. What the listing did not mention, nor clearly show, is that the piece is signed by Teresa Talani, one of the few women in the glyptics field, who was active in Naples at the turn of the 19th century.



It was a turning point; she was my passport to meeting museum curators and other professionals in the field. She also got me hooked on finding other signed pieces. My avatar is Venus, by Filippo Tignani. One of my most prized pieces is this young Hercules by Gaspare Capparoni:



Snagging the occasional 'find' is exhilarating, but I still love shell, which makes up most of my collection. I would rather have a well carved loose cameo with an unusual subject, in any material, than a ho-hum piece, no matter how lavish the setting.

Looking forward to seeing your finds too and helping out where I can. Bronwen

 

WOW!!!!!

 

Welcome again, Bronwen.
Stunning pieces, good to see that quality. Perfect pictures too.
And I like the way you came to collect them, through mythology.
I don't think I'd ever buy a cameo, but I love to see the artistry in the good ones, and symbolism is always good, in my book.

 

Well, of course only the best for the forum. But it is nice to show one's little treasures to an appreciative audience. The field pulls together so many things I love. That semester of ancient Greek I took eons ago helped me spot the Capparoni.

 

I wouldn't know a Capparoni from a Macaroni!!!

 

In addition to cameos, I collect what I call 'eBayisms'. A couple of my favorites are the long trestle legged piece of furniture described as a 'refractory table,' & the occasional 'condition commiserate with age.'

 

Hmmmm....
I'll have to look that up!

 

The seller didn't know it from a KAN.

 

Ok I did.

 

Priceless! I'll have to remember those.

 

You also have to look up 'refectory'.

 

WELCOME Bronwen !!! .. Joy.

 

Hello, Joy, Consider your hand shaken.

 

I think I should put up one of these every so often. We could all use a laugh:


For sale is a cool lucite bracelet with five little Beatles encased in clear lucite. Very little ware shown if any.

 

Welcome, Bronwen. I love your cameo collection!

I used to "collect" malapropisms from Craigslist ads. Lately, the most common issues are misspellings - "cloths" instead of "clothes" for instance.

 

Hello Baker's Grandma. Thank you. The best really are works of art.

I have long said there is no error like a computer-assisted error. Probably spell check was responsible for 'refractory' when it 'fixed' a typo.

 

Greetings...........
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I won't write a lot here....just a quick ' Cameo ' appearance !!!..........

 

Feeling like just the shell of yourself?

 

Welcome.
I have one cameo necklace/pin -- think it is in my jewelry box.
I always thought cameo jewelry was lovely.
Thanks for sharing your treasures.