Cameos

A few years ago, I received an antique cameo as a gift, and my interest was piqued. 

Cameos are works of art unto themselves. 

They're intricate miniature sculptures, dating back to the Victorian ages. 

Now, THIS is craftsmanship! The detail is amazing. 

The beauty of a hand-carved cameo is unsurpassed.

Cameos are usually a portrait of a Roman or Greek god or goddess, royalty, or a Biblical figure.
Famous paintings have also been reproduced onto a cameo. 

Coral, ivory, shell, and turquoise are among the many materials used for carving.

Shell is the least expensive and therefore the most popular. 

On certain shell cameos, you can detect as many as 7 different shades,

according to the number of layers in the shell. 

The first photo below illustrates this.

Enjoy the rich beauty of these cameos. 

My favorite is the woman with the veil. Gorgeous.

Shell

Antiquingonline

Flight into Egypt - RubyLane

Three Graces - antiquejewelrymall

Sardonyx - antiquecameos.net

Mother-of-Pearl

Antiquesnavigator

waterrosez.blogspot.com

Coral

via papercitymag

via faycullen.com

via antiquesnavigator

Bloodstone, Amethyst, Tortoise Shell, Turquoise.

Jesus Christ in bloodstone via portraitcameos.com

Amethyst via romanovrussia.com

Tortoise Shell - antiques.com

Turquoise Athena - eragem

Lava

via jewelryexpert.com

Medusa via antiquecameos.net

Here's Guido Renin's painting 

"St. Michael the Archangel Slaying the Devil"

and a cameo of the same:

loopholesonlife

antiquecameos

View my post about a modern artistic interpretation

of a cameo found here.

Here's a hint: O-R-E-O!