Cameo Jewellery – a wearable form of art

Camoes have long been set into Jewellery – into brooches, rings, necklaces and bracelets. They have also been set into hair adornments, lockets and watch fobs amongst others. So what exacty is a cameo? It is a picture  in high relief where the picture stands out above the background. This picture is often hand carved .

The high relief is often a contrasting colour to the background ( shell cameos and wedgwood cameos ) but not alway as some materials are one colour throughout ( coral cameos and lava cameos).

Cameos have been popular since antiquity and many have classical themes although they can be found with fairies, biblical scenes, victorian romantic scenes, important historical figures  and modern young ladies – the range is endless.

What makes a cameo desirable is the quality of the carving – the finer the carving the more valuable the piece. Also look out for cameos where the lady is wearing jewellery and even more so if that is set with diamonds.

Here are a few pieces of  cameo  Jewellery available from antiquesavenue