Posted 8 years ago
Hoipolloi
(25 items)
Hello everybody,
I've not posted much lately but I'm always popping in for a looky-loo and a nosey at what you've all been collecting. I hope you're all well.
Another mystery cameo I'm hoping to get to the bottom of. This one appears to be Medusa (although I thought that about the last one) and seems to be made from celluloid and dipped into or foiled with silver? The last two photos are a before/after cleaning although I did little more than a gentle brush and run over with a silver cloth.
Cameos are one of my latest fads so I'll share a few more I've acquired recently, although I know little about them.
All input would be welcome, thanks in advance.
The underlying turquoise colored material does appear to be resin: you can see the little ripples & irregularities characteristic of material that has been poured as a liquid that solidified fairly quickly. Have to wonder how many other pieces that pass as solid silver are actually manufactured this way. Damage can be very informative.
Think she is not Medusa, although can see how she gives that impression. Not sure I am interpreting correctly, but believe I see roses at the crown of her head, like the ones on the frame surrounding her. That snaky business trailing down the back of her neck looks to me like the trailing vine seen on many cameos of the Flora type. Being molded rather than carved, the lines are more rounded, less sharp, obscuring the composition somewhat.
Most cameo Medusas give her wings:
http://cameotimes.com/index.php/profiles-1/minor-gods/medusa
An exception are ones that follow the so-called Strozzi Medusa.