Cameo (carving)

For "brief appearance" see Cameo appearance. For other uses, see Cameo (disambiguation).

Cameo in Shell

Cameo is a method of carving, or an item of jewellery made in this manner. It features a raised (positive) relief image; contrast with intaglio, which has a negative image. The effect of "cameo" also refers to a proof coin that has frosted lettering and features, providing attractive contrast with the mirrored fields of the coin. The terms "deep cameo" and "ultra cameo" describe cameo coins having the boldest, most attractive contrast.

2002 Lincoln cent, obverse, proof with cameo

There are two main materials for Cameo carving; Shells or Agate (called a Hardstone cameo).

A cameo can be made of two types of material, commonly precious or semi-precious stone. One material is carved into a figure, the most common type being a profile portrait of a person's head. This is then set upon the other type of material which provides a background of another colour to offset the figure. This is called an assembled cameo.

Alternately, a cameo can be made from (banded) agate, where different layers of the same stone have different colours. Sometimes dyes are used to enhance the colours. Cameos are often worn as jewellery. Cameos of great artistry were made in Greece dating back as far as the 6th century BC. They were very popular in Ancient Rome — the Gemma Claudia made for the Emperor Claudius found its way into the Hapburg collections — and have enjoyed periodic revivals, notably in the early Renaissance, and again in the 17th and 18th centuries. This visual art form has even inspired at least one writer of more recent times: the nineteenth-century Russian poet Lev Mey composed a cycle of six poems entitled "Камеи" ("Cameos", 1861), as reflections on each of the Roman rulers from Julius Caesar to Nero. in 1852 Théophile Gautier titled a collection of his highly polished, lapidary poems, Emaux et Camées ("Enamels and Cameos").

Cameo subjects

Classically the designs carved onto cameo stones were either scenes of Greek or Roman mythology or Portraits of Rulers or important dignitaries. In history, agate portrait cameos were often gifts from royalty to their subjects. These antique cameos, some more than 2000 years old are either displayed in museums or are in private collections.

Notable historic cameos

Gemma Augustea Cameo – Roman, After 10 A. D. Two-Layered onyx

Gemma Claudia Cameo – Roman, 49 A.D. Five-layered onyx

Herophiloska Cameo – Roman, 14 to 37 AD This portrait of a man with laurel wreath is probably of Emperor Tiberius. The work is signed "Herophilos Dioskourid[ou] ("Herophilus, son of Dioscorides). The colour of the glass was intended by the artist to imitate turquoise.

Agrippina the Elder Cameo-Carved in Italy in the period of 37 – 41 AD. The carving is a three layer agate.

Ptolemaic double cameo-Hellenistic, 278–270/269 B. C. Eleven-layered onyx;

"Blacas Cameo"-Roman, about AD 14–20. This was carved from a three layered sardonyx. It is a fragment of a larger portrait of the Roman emperor-Augustus.

Ptolemy II and Arsinoe (the “Gonzaga Cameo”). Sardonyx. 3rd century B.C.

"The head of Flora Cameo" – Benedetto Pistrucci. AD 1812 In this cameo the top red-brown layer has been carved into roses. The face is carved from the white layer. The collector Richard Payne Knight purchased the Flora cameo from an Italian dealer, believing it to be Roman. The Italian carver Pistrucci claimed to have carved it himself. Payne challenged Pistrucci to carve a copy to prove his claim. The ensuing publicity earned Pistrucci several commisssions.

Modern hardstone cameos

Modern cameos are carved into layered agates. The layers are dyed to create strong color contrasts. The most usual colors used for two layer stones are white on black, white on blue, white on red-brown. Three layer stones are sometimes made. The colors are usually black on white on black. The layers are translucent, this allows the artist to create shading effects by removing material to allow the background layer to show through. This way a very realistic, life-like quality to a figure can be achieved. For example thinning the top black layer on a three layer stone changes it's color to shades of brown. Removing material from the white layer creates shades of blue or grey depending on the color of the base.

Ultrasonic machine carved cameos

The majority of modern agate cameos are carved with the aid of the Ultrasonic Mill. This a process where multiple copies of a master design can be produced very quickly by pressing a master die onto the agate cameo blank. A film of diamond slurry is used to aid cutting and the die vibrates ultrasonically in a vertical motion. The master is often hand carved by a skilled cameo artist. The result is a cameo that has a satin surface texture described as "freshly fallen snow", (FSS) by Anna Miller. This texture and the lack of any undercutting are used by appraisers as markers to prove that the cameo is man made.

A modern cameo portrait carved by hand by Gareth Eckley in white on blue layered agate

Modern portrait cameos

These cameos are carved by hand usually working from photographs of the subject. The fact that there is usually only one copy made means that the tooling costs involved rule out the ultrasonic carving process.

There are very few people working in this field as this is one of the hardest challenges for any gemstone carver. The combination of a highly developed artistic ability, craft skill and many years of experience are needed to be able to create life-like portraits.

It is quite rare, these days, for subjects other than portraits to be carved by hand as agate cameos. The traditional themes of classical scenes from mythology or a standard image of a young lady, are more likely to be made with the help of the ultrasonic carving machine as a limited collection of typically 50 – 200 pieces.

Shell cameos

The earliest known use of shell for cameo carving was during the Renaissance, in the 15th and 16th centuries. Before that time, cameos were carved from hardstone. The Renaissance cameos are white on a grayish background and were carved from the shell of a Mussel or Cowrie, a tropical mollusc.

In the mid 18th century, explorations revealed new shell varieties. Helmet shells ( Cassis tuberosa ) from the West Indies and Queen Conch shells ( Strombus gigas ) from the Bahamas arrived in Europe. This sparked a big increase in the amount of cameos carved from shell. The Conch shells carve very well but the color fades over time. Modern sources for the best quality Conch shell are Madagascar and South Africa.

Today the most popular shells for carving are the Bull Mouth Carnelian Shell ( Cassis rufa ) from the East African coast. This has white and orange or white and brownish-orange layers. The most highly prized shell for carving is the Emperor helmet shell ( Cassis madagascariensis ). This has white and dark brown layers and is known as Sardonyx shell. This looks similar to the layered agate known as Sardonyx.

The world centre for cameo carving in shell is Torre Del Greco, Italy. The shells are first marked with a series of ovals in a process called signing, then cut into oval blanks for the cameo carver. The actual cameo is mainly cut with a metal scraping tool, called a bulino the invention of Jewish artisan Antonio Cimeniello. A number of metal gravers are used, flat-faced, round and three-cornered. To speed production, grinding wheels are used to quickly remove excess material. When the details are completed the shell is soaked in olive oil, cleaned with soap and water and areas are polished with a hand brush.

Bibliography

• Miller, Anna (2003). Cameos Old and New. ISBN 0-442-00278-5.
• Scarisbrick, Dianna (2003). Classical Gems: Ancient and Modern Intaglios and Cameos in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. ISBN 978-0521239011.
• Henig, Martin (1990). The Content Family Collection of Ancient Cameos-Ashmolean Museum. ISBN 978-1854440044.
• Fiorelli, Anna (1989). Corals and Cameos – The treasures of Torre Del Greco.
• Walters, H.B (1927). Catalogue of the Engraved Gems and Cameos, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman in the British Museum.
• Neverov, O (1971). Antique Cameos in the Hermitage Collection. Aurora Art Publishers.

References

• Cameo Appearances Exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, 2004
• Cameo collection at the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna | Gemma Augusta, Gemma Claudia, Herophiloska Cameo
• Antique Cameos in the Hermitage Museum

External Links

• "Shell Cameos". Sculpture. Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 2007-09-22.

See also

• Intaglio (jewellery)
• How a portrait cameo in layered agate is made
• The Pocahontas Cameo Brooch
• Origin of Cameo and Intaglio Jewelry
• Carving the Pocahontas Cameo in natural un-dyed layered agate
• Камеи (Мей)" (English: "Cameos")