Antique Carnelian Cameo Victorian Brooch Pendant Fine Jewelry

Jewelry : Antique : Fine : Victorian : Cameos

 

This is one of the finest cameos I have ever owned, part of my personal collection, I bought this fine piece 30 years ago from a quite elderly local antique dealer , it had belonged to his late wife.. The cameo is antique Victorian, and in fabulous condition. The cameo itself is carnelian, with some of the most beautiful natural shadings and color variations in the carving I have ever seen. The workmanship is of the finest, with great detail, I have included some very close up photos, which will show the detail, but be warned they also make every microscopic fleabite, piece of dust, etc, show up, but I want you to see the fine carving, and be assured your cameo will look twice as wonderful as the photos. This piece is both brooch and pendant, with the old style fastener in back in wonderful working condition, and the swivel loop for hanging folds down flat when not in use. The cameo is set in fine gold filled or gold of unknown karat, with a slight rose gold appearance, I was told it was 14K when bought, but I am not sure the dealer had it tested, and the true value was in the cameo workmanship. The mounting is also in great condition, very shiny, has never tarnished of course, and very soft to the touch. On the back of the cameo is incised the number 241, which may have been a number associated with the maker of this piece, or could have been put there by the original owner if this was part of a large estate that was at one time cataloged. There are no maker markings that I can find, and no markings as to metal content. There are four "points" in the center of the four decorative bands in the mounting, which I believe at one time held pearls or some other type of bead, pearls could be easily added if one wished, in the 30 years I have owned this, I never noticed these until handling it so closely to list the information for this sale. A very small cultured pearl would look just lovely on this item, The size of this piece is a tiny over 1 & 1/4" tall, and 1 & 1/8" wide, and the depth of this piece from the flat part of the cameo back ( not the pin fastener) to the front of the carving at its outermost point is over 1/4", quite deep detailing. There are no cracks or major or minor chips, with only the typical fleabites from the age if any. The fold-down loop also swivels, as one would expect of fine jewelry.

Item ID: 4157