Archive for Cameos
Favourite cameo brooches
Posted by: | CommentsHere’s just a few of my favourite Cameo brooches. Some have long gone to their new homes but their pictures remain………….
Victorian Lava Cameo
Hebe In Greek mythology Hebe is the Goddess of youth & Eternal beauty. In this cameo she is giving the nectar of life to Zeus ( her father) who has taken the form of an Eagle:
And I think this lovely lady is Flora:
5 vintage cameos – works of art set as Jewellery
Posted by: | CommentsToday I’m taking a look at the variety of cameos available to be worn as Jewellery. The cameo is a picture which stands above the background it is set on – a miniature work of art. Here are just five cameos available from antiquesavenue:
1. The classical Victorian Cameo brooch
The classical Victorian cameo brooch depicts a the profile of a Roman lady. These were hand carved in Italy and brought back from the Grand tour. Sometimes the picture is of the lady who was on the grand tour who had the cameo carved in her own likeness . These cameos are made from shell . When you are buying a cameo like this do hold it up to a strong light so that you can check it for cracks.
cameo brooch
This cameo has the advantage of being carved from marble which was stone white. Marble was not as easy to carve as shell and so usually is not quite so intricate but still very interesting. Again this cameo brooch would have been made in Italy.
Very rare and very sought after. Cameo habilles are dressed with their own tiny Jewels. This ring has a cameo habille set into one set – the lady is wearing a diamond. Some cameos are carved so that they depict jewellery being worn ut this is not the same . To be a true cameo habille the piece must have added jewellery
4. A pinchbeck cameo
This Classical gent is Asclepius – son of Apollo and God of Medicine. In addition to being well carved he is set into a pinchbeck frame. Pinchbeck is a highly sought after gold substitute which had not been available since the Victorian era.
wedgwood cameo
5. A Wedgwood Cameo
Wedgwood cameos are made from jasper and available is a whole range of colours. This ring is white on black. AntiuqesAvenue also has white on blue and white on green cameos. These cameos are not carved but the white areas are moulded and applied to the coloured background in a process known as sprigging. Cameos are available in other colours and colour combinations but these are quite rare. Wedgwood mounted their cameos in gold, silver and sometimes base metal so do check before you buy. If you can see the reverse please take a look and see if the Wedgwood name is present as other makers also produced this type of cameo.
Hot Jewels – antique jewellery from Lava
Posted by: | CommentsAntique Jewellery carved from Lava
Seeing on the news about the underseas volcano erupting neat Tonga reminded me of a very unusual material used for making antique Jewellery - Lava from volcanoes. More specifically most of the lava jewellery we see was made from the Lava from Mount Vesuvius in Italy.
Lava Cameo
The Lava is soft and lends its self well to being carved into intricate shapes and as such was used to make a huge variery of cameo jewellery. Antique Bracelets, necklaces and especially brooches can all be set with cameos carved from lava. The Lava comes in a variety of colours varying from white through sludgy beige colours through reddish tones to almost black.
The trend for lava cameo jewellery began in the early Victorian era, ladies undertaking the Grand Tour of Italy would call in at Pompei and purchase a piece of Lava Cameo Jewellery as a souvenir of their visit.
Lava cameos are carved into a wide variety of subjects similar to those found in shell cameos: Classical scenes including Roman and Greek gods and goddesses. You can find famous historical figures and political figures from the Victorian era. A lady could also commission a lava cameo to be carved in her own likeness if she wished. The lava cameos are normally found mounted into gold or silver to form the jewellery
Care of your Antique Lava Cameo Jewellery.
Please remember Lava is a soft material, this is what helped it to be carved so well in the first place. It is soft enough to be easily damaged, I often find lava cameos with their noses a little flat or a curl missing from their hair. Please take care when you store your lava cameos, they should not be placed anywhere where they can knock against another piece of jewellery. Cleaning should be done with a soft dry brush only, lava is porous and if likely to stain if you get it wet. If in doubt I would say don’t clean a piece as you will most likely make it worse.
Sourcing Antique Lava Cameo Jewellery
These cameo pieces are rarer than shell cameos, you will need to hunt to find them. AntiuqesAvenue occasionally has a piece of lava cameo jewellery to sell or you could try hunting around the larger antique fairs – good luck and do send me a picture if you find any and I will add it here.
Lava Cameo charm
History of Wedgwood Jasper cameo jewellery
Posted by: | CommentsI have been lucky to acquire quire a collection of vintage Wedgwood jasper jewellery mostly in its original boxes. One of these retained the original leaflet from Wedgwood giving a little on the history an care of Jasper jewellery. Since my last blog post touched on this subject I thought you would like to see what it had to say: Read More→
Cameo Jewellery – a wearable form of art
Posted by: | CommentsCamoes 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
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- cameo ring
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- cameo brooch
Wedgwood Jasper Cameo Jewellery
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Wedgwood has been setting small blue jasper pottery cameos into Jewellery since the 19th Century. These pices are quite collectable with a wide range of pieces available for both Ladies ( rings, pendants, brooches and earrings) and also for gents where I have seen cuff links, stick / lapel pins and tie pins. Here are a few examples:
