Vintage cameo brooch

I need help in identifying this brooch and the signature on the back. Pls help. Thank u

 

Hi Chanelle!

Welcome to Antiquers.............

 

@Bronwen

 

Welcome, Chanelle. Your brooch is more than vintage, the hinge and clasp are 19th century.
The bail at the top looks like it was added later, but it is always nice to have the pendant option. The tiny loop at the bottom used to have a small chain with tiny pin attached, a safety measure before the invention of safety clasps.

Our cameo expert Bronwen has been tagged, she will tell you more.

 

Welcome, Chanelle. The putative expert cannot tell you much more than AJ has told you already. The cameo is cut in helmet shell. I'm having difficulty making out details on the figure, but think she might be Ceres?

https://cameotimes.com/index.php/profiles-1/olympian-gods/ceres-demeter

While the way the pin stem is attached to the hinge & the simple C clasp suggest a Victorian era origin, the acid etched G moves it into the 20th century, although I would say early 20th based on the way the cameo has been set in a custom made bezel that follows the shape of the shell.

If the mount is silver in color, it probably is silver, even though unmarked. Chances are it is 800 silver, a lesser fineness than sterling, which is 925.

As for the signature, 'G' is not enough to even make a guess on the identity. Now & then I see pieces with only a G on the back, every one probably a different carver. Many Italian men's names start with G. When a whole name is acid etched it is almost always illegible. Use of this method for signing seems to have been an early 20th practice. Contemporary cameists now sometimes cut their names quite prominently on the front.

 

But of course anything marked on this later addition may not apply to the whole piece. Do you have really sharp eyes or do you go over things with a magnifying glass?

Edit: Sorry INH. See below. Am still awed by how you spot these things.

 

It is hiding just under the bail, on the original mount.

 

Oh, thanks for directing my eye, even though the circle should have done so. I am exceedingly good at misreading pictures. In the funnies thread I'm still looking for 2 babies & a heart.

 

Looks very much like it.

 

Does it look like the original pin went top to bottom rather than side to side? Maybe that isn't an 800 mark.

Also it appears there is another letter under the "G".

 

Hi there. Sorry for only replying now. it is gold. Will take more photos. Is it valuable?

 

Is the gold, 9, 15 or 18ct? That info makes a difference in value.