Victorian cameo on shell | ||
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Posted 7 years ago
Hetty
(1 item)
Victorian cameo still on the shell. Approx 2inches high by 1 1/2 inches wide. I would like to have cameo cut out to mount as a pendant. Is this possible? Live in Birmingham, close to jewellery quarter. Can anyone advise who and where could safely remove this cameo from the shell please? Thankyou.
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This is a cabinet cameo shell. Possible that it was made in Italy and is much later than Victorian. Not really possible to advise where to take your cameo to for information. You need to look online and find a reputable jeweler in your area who is also a silversmith/goldsmith and makes bespoke items. Take the shell there and get an estimate.
http://www.birmingham-jewellery-quarter.net/listing-category/jewellery-shops/
Not sure of date but it belonged to my great-aunt's mother. Great aunt was born in 1913. I was told Victorian.
It's possible, of course, but the woman depicted looks to me to be more Art Nouveau than Victorian.
I suspect you can still buy cameo carved whole helmet shells as souvenirs of Naples, but the beautiful quality of the work on this one is consistent with the Victorian period indicated by what you know of its history. This is an exceptionally nice example. She is usually seen as the goddess Flora.
Shell is so much softer than the materials jewelers are usually called on to cut that it should not be difficult to find one who could cut this lady free. Question becomes finding a jeweler who can create the custom setting you envision for her & who is willing/able to do metal work around the fragile shell. Some are reluctant out of fear of damaging the cameo.
Good luck - she will be lovely when worn.
Info on Flora and later depictions of her in a draped gown, as seen on your cameo carving:
https://www.rubylane.com/item/173699-C-2027/14K-White-Gold-Shell-Cameo-Goddess
Since Victorian was Queen until 1901 & the art nouveau period is regarded as 1890 1910, there is nothing inconsistent with an image being both Victorian & art nouveau. When it comes to female figures, art nouveau has much in common with neoclassicism. Here is a Flora from that time:
http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/4AC1E8EB-1BE6-4727-8441-6DA289C7EBBD
Thankyou Efesgirl and cameosleuth.
Left the way it is says whole volumes about it's creation.
That is stunning-I personally would not touch this piece for fear of ruining it.
Try to find an artist jeweler who specializes in carving - contact your local or national artist's association or a large gallery for the info. The quality of carving is very good and I imagine it'll be hard to find someone willing to take the risk.
davyd286's comment reminded me that I know of a jeweler who includes cameos in many of her own pieces, in fact, it was her work that made me stop thinking of them as hopelessly old fashioned. I see her at crafts shows but we do not know each other & this is not meant as promotional, just as a lead on a contemporary cameo jeweler. Harriet Forman Barrett:
http://www.hformanbarrett.com/HFBJewelry.htm
Her pre-made pieces do not always feature the best cameos, probably strictly for cost reasons & her what I will call nouveau art nouveau style may or may not be to your taste, but she is definitely comfortable working with vintage cameos.