THE cameos they are jewels – in some cases real artistic artefacts – created throughengraving of a shell or layered stonesuch as agate, onyx or sardonic stone, but also other materials such as coral and mother-of-pearl, from which a figure emerges in high or low relief.
Made with a simple engraving on ceramic or stone already inancient Egyptand then in a more refined way in Greece and Romecameos became famous in the Renaissance thanks to Queen Elizabeth Iwho gives them to his guests as a sign of benevolence.
In the 19th century, when theEmpress Josephine and the Queen Victoria they became passionate about these jewels, cameos became trendy. Today they are making a comeback thanks to great stylists who choose them for their creations, and to the craftsmanship of high jewelry, which is flourishing especially in Italy.
The origin of the cameo from ancient Egypt to Rome
We have news of the presence of primordial cameos already in Ancient Egypt: the Egyptians, in fact, engraved scarabs – lucky animals par excellence according to the culture of the time – on ceramics and onyx, and wore these jewels “petroglyphs”, i.e. engraved on the stone, like brooches or decorative auspicious pendants. Even i Romans they loved to engrave small bas-reliefs on jewelery and brooches, mainly to represent emperors and divinities and always carry them with them. A celebratory gesture, like what it is for us today to wear pendants with religious symbols and small images dear to us.
We also have evidence of larger cameos, therefore not used as jewels but as true works of art. Among these, the famous Gonzaga Cameo, of Greek origin – today preserved in the Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg, which belonged over the centuries to various noble families, including the Gonzagas of Mantua – engraved in sardonyx stone dating back to the 3rd century BC, measuring approximately 15 x 11 cm, which represents two figures in profile, perhaps Pharaoh Ptolemy II and his wife Arsinoe.
Fashion at court in the Middle Ages
During the Renaissance, religious art was predominant, but Queen Elizabeth I brought the cameo back to the center of fashion and artistic taste. The sovereign, in fact, loved to give small engraved jewels to her guests: among these, the famous “Drake Jewel”: a very precious cameo made between 1580 and 1590 – now preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London – given by the queen to Sir Francis Drake, privateer, navigator and politician, to thank him for his services. It is an oval-shaped pendant, made of sardonia stone and set in gold, rubies, diamonds, which on the front represents a black man in front of a white woman. At the base is a cluster of pearls and, when opened, reveals a scroll with a miniature of the Queen.
The refinement of the jewels donated by Elizabeth I made the cameo famous among the nobility of the time, and wearing these jewels became a symbol of status high.
In the 19th century cameos officially became “fashionable”. THE’Empress Josephine of BeauharnaisNapoleon’s wife, had herself portrayed on several occasions by artists of the time, such as Andrea Appiani and Fredric Westin, wearing precious jewels with engraved profiles. Among these is an imposing tiara decorated with cameos. This crown, today, belongs to the royal house of Sweden, and was worn by Princess Victoria on her wedding day. Queen Victoria of England was also a great fan of cameos and had an extraordinary collection of them. His style, amplified by the spread of the first fashion magazines, was much loved and often imitated. Just as happened with her white wedding dress — the photograph of which went around the world, giving rise to the tradition of the white wedding dress — cameos also became trendy thanks to her.
The cameo today between craftsmanship, fashion and vintage
In recent years the cameo has come back into fashion: Oscar de la Renta created a bag decorated with cameos and precious stones; Dior has transformed them into refined drop earrings and there is no shortage of appearances on the red carpet. The luxury craftsmanship associated with cameos — much of it Italian — continues to be highly prized around the world.
However, their massive diffusion between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries also left a legacy of many not particularly valuable specimens, often made not in onyx stone or shell, but in simple resin.
Beyond their undisputed vintage charm, to understand if a cameo can be truly precious, all you need is a little trick: holding it up to the light. If the contours of the engraved figure become slightly transparent or translucent, it is likely that a quality material was used. The precision of the details and the presence of decorations with gems or miniatures are also important clues to its value.
