#7472 gorgeous carved coral pin. 

Last week we learned about glyptics - cameo and intaglio carving. When, where and what for. Today, we will continue the topic and learn a little about materials, variations with some hints and tips about what to look for and how to buy. 

Up to the 19th century, most cameos were carved from hardstones, gems and sometimes shells. While we normally associate cameos with hardstones such as sardonyx, they were carved in gems like emeralds, rock crystal, moonstones and opals. 

With the advent of the 19th century and demand for cheap mass produced jewels, the quality of some carving and subjects deteriorated somewhat.  A variety of materials were used to make the carving easier and therefore, cheaper.  Whether as intentional fakes or, simply to supply a demand for cheaper jewelry to society at large, a number of 'fakes' came onto the scene. Some of them are quite lovely and worth owning despite their humbler origins.

One of the materials used was volcanic lava. Lava is softer and easier to carve than hardstones described last week. While softer than hardstones, they are also less brittle, so there's a little payoff and many have lasted in perfect shape for well over 100 years. 

#3397 lava cameo set.

Carved coral is an alternative used in beautiful antique jewelry. This material needs no explaining - it is quite beautiful. Just make sure you are looking at the 'real thing' and not a fraudulent copy composed of a composite substance. 

#7302 beautifully carved coral brooch.  

As the demand for cheaper jewelry grew, we find a plethora of carved shell cameos depicting amorphic 'beautiful women'. While we might sniff at the quality and lack of original art in most of them, some shell carving is fabulous. Not all carving in shell is to be scoffed at. 

Another cheaper form of cameos are 'fake cameos'. Made of moulded glass, they might look like the real thing and with the passing of hundreds of years, it is sometimes quite difficult for us amateurs to distinguish them from the real gems. They are often done to imitate amethyst.  Even if nothing else tells you that it's not what it is trying to be, look for bubbles that usually give the fraud away.

During the 18th century, a gentleman by the name of James Tassie created wonderful cameos, using glass paste to imitate the best pieces of Classic cameos owned by the wealthy citizens of the western world. These imitations are highly sought after today and named Tassies, for their creator.  His nephew carried on the business after he died. 
  
To increase the appeal of some cameos, they were adorned with jewels of their own. Thus a portrait of a young lady might include a real diamond necklace or a pair of earrings. These are known as 'cameo habille', meaning 'dressed cameos' in French. Needless to say, these would be more sought after than their more common cousins.
 
A special kind of carved cameo is called a gryllus. This consists of 4 heads, all carved in one image. Look at the same piece from different angles and you can see 4 heads, usually a man, a woman, another man and a ram. Often a flower forms the center. These are so popular that I don't have an example currently in stock. 

#7297 antique Tiffany carved rock crystal brooch.

Related to cameos are reverse carved rock crystals, often known as Essex crystals. A half-dome of transparent rock crystal was carved from the back and then painted. The back was then closed and the whole set in a jewel. 

#7570 fabulous bulldog Essex crystal.

Cameos are not restricted to natural materials. Some interesting techniques were developed. 

The first is Wedgwood cameo, really two (or more) layers of jasper ceramic in contrasting colours. We are all familiar with the raised white on blue ground used to make everything from wonderful antique jewellery to cookie jars. However, Wedgwood used the  cameo technique with as many as 4 layers. More than two layers is very difficult to achieve, highly sought after and rare.  Many other companies, such as Adams, in England, copied the Wedgwood technique and no Victorian porcelain collection is complete without at least one example in the kitchen.
#2508 Wedgwood jasper brooch.  

Other techniques of carved porcelain such as lithopanes are closely related to cameo carving.
#2109 lithopane carved porcelain pane.

Carved ivory is usually 3-dimentional, so not included in this post, but an imitation somewhere between cameos and ivory carving was made in quantity by the wonderful Art Nouveau company in Spain, Fuset Y Grau. These 'cameos' were often polychrome painted and are an area of antique jewelry somewhat neglected, but worth looking into.

#7459 Fuset Y Grau pendant. 

Cameo glass is one of the most sought after areas of antique collecting. A difficult technique of layering different coloured glass and then carving away the outer section to reveal the lower. Glass, being glass, is easy to chip, crack or otherwise break, rendering the whole fit for the garbage dump. While cameo glass was made by the ancient Romans and Syrians, it was revived during the late 19th century by Emile Galle and perfected by amongst others Rene Lalique and Daum Nancy and of course, Webb in England. 
     #5642 Webb cameo glass vase.  

Advice and tips:

As mentioned, the material from which the cameo is carved will make a difference. Hardstone is better than shell. Gemstones are better than cheap hardstones.
Age plays a small part, but strangely, ancient pieces are not relatively more valuable. Perhaps the ancients churned them out. The bottom line is that there is not a terrible shortage of Classic cameos. What really counts is quality of workmanship. Originality. 

A word of advice: look at the side of the cameo to ensure that the material is truly of one piece. It is not unknown to join a carved image to a background in imitation of the real thing.
 
And your first priority, as always, is to buy what you love, regardless of anyone else's opinion.

Questions and comments: Please email antiques@brendaginsberg.com
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