Dating Cameos

[Shaynana]

Hi all!

I got a small hand full of cameos in an auction lot of costume jewelry. Hoping someone can help me date them. There are no makers marks on any of them. Is it odd that they don’t have an fastener on them? Sorry in advanced for the lack of close ups. My phone can’t focus on teeny things very well. It’s hard to tell in the pictures but they definitely appear to be hand carved.

 

[Marzilli_Vintage]

Hi Shayana. You appear to have a good collection of hand-carved shell cameos from a range of periods and in a range of quality. It is very difficult to be specific without close-up photos, but there seem to be some examples that are Edwardian, some a little later than that and a couple possibly earlier. The one with a figure on some type of creature looks like it's mythological, probably earlier and definitely better quality than the rest, but most of them look like tourist grade cameos that were reasonably priced when new. Some may be set in gold so you may want to have the metals tested. You can use clues such as hairstyles, jewelry and such to help you date cameos in general and, all else being equal in terms of age, materials and etc., the quailty of the carving is the most important criteria in determining value. Again, these are impressions based on your photos, and I'd be happy to expand on my thoughts if you can somehow post more detailed photos.

 

[Shaynana]

Hi Shayana. You appear to have a good collection of hand-carved shell cameos from a range of periods and in a range of quality. It is very difficult to be specific without close-up photos, but there seem to be some examples that are Edwardian, some a little later than that and a couple possibly earlier. The one with a figure on some type of creature looks like it's mythological, probably earlier and definitely better quality than the rest, but most of them look like tourist grade cameos that were reasonably priced when new. Some may be set in gold so you may want to have the metals tested. You can use clues such as hairstyles, jewelry and such to help you date cameos in general and, all else being equal in terms of age, materials and etc., the quailty of the carving is the most important criteria in determining value. Again, these are impressions based on your photos, and I'd be happy to expand on my thoughts if you can somehow post more detailed photos.

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your knowledge with me. I’ll see if I can get some camera help today and maybe get some better detailed pictures. Again, I really appreciate your help. (Sorry for the extra late reply.)

 

[Shaynana]

 

[Shaynana]

The lot also came with all of these settings which appear to be from a much later era.

 

[Marzilli_Vintage]

Thanks for the better photos. Most of what I said in reply to your previous post remains true. All of your cameos appear to be genuine vintage/antique and carved on what is referred to as carnelian shell. Although the quality is slightly better on the woman with mottled brown and white hair, they are all tourist quality, something the average person on vacation in Italy would purchase as a souvenir, and probably from around 1910 to maybe as late as the 1940's or even 50's. They appear to have been brooches or pendant-brooches as there seem to be rough spots on the backs where pin-back findings and maybe folding bails have been removed. The one with the little cherub playing a lyre is the exception. The subject is very charming, the carving appears to be much better and it's done on a different shell, this one referred to as sardonyx, which is also a sign of high quality. The metals are impossible to assess as the only sure way to do so is by testing. I hope this is helpful to you.

 

[The Vintage Vendeuse]

I am a cameo collector and would just like to add a few things to Marzilli's great info.
All the "pretty lady" cameos may have once been part of a bracelet, rather than brooches, and someone cut them apart and prepped them for craft use.
Also, the lyre-playing putto with the goat does appear a bit nicer (though still rather crudely carved) and appears to have been made from a darker material.
True carnelian and sardonyx cameos are actually carved from stones of those names. However, those stone names are also commonly used to describe carved shell cameos, too. "Carnelian" shell cameos have a more orange-y background, while "sardonyx" shell cameos have a darker, more brown, background. They are simply two different species of shell.
All your pretty ladies are carved shell. For me, it's hard to tell whether the putto/goat cameo is shell or stone from the photos provided. Stone is more desirable and more valuable than shell.
I agree that they are all lower quality tourist or department store type items from the early to mid 20th century. But to me, all cameos are fascinating!

A 1970s cameo bracelet:

 

[Gary Hamm]

I have some old cameos and would like comments on them. Thanks

 

[The Vintage Vendeuse]

Hi, Gary!
It would probably be best if you start your own thread. And please do include photos of the backs.