The art of cameo making for jewelry purposes dates back to almost 3 centuries before the birth of Christ (in Alexandria, Egypt). It is a much-loved and well-practiced skill that has been passed on and cherished from ancient times right up until modern-day times. This bas-relief art form (carved from the top of the material down) is used in both double-layer, as well as multiple-layer cameos. Up until the 19th century, most cameos were carved from hard stones such as coral, agate, garnet, jet, amber, jade and other materials, but the most commonly used medium for true “carved” cameos today is shell. For reproduction or costume cameos, typically a mold of plastic or resin is used to simulate the shell or coral.
While most of us think of a female portrait when the word cameo comes to mind, throughout history many mythical scenes, gods & goddesses, heroes, rulers and biblical events were used as subject matter. It wasn’t until the fifteenth or sixteenth century that the female portrait cameo became predominant, brought forth in popularity by Queen Victoria of England. During and after her reign, cameos were mass-produced using assembly-line techniques. With this process, and to meet the growing demands of the middle class market, much of the meticulous attention to detail and creative flair were lost. All of a sudden, similar, anonymous faces replaced the once particular people depicted.
While young women used cameos as charms to express desire during the Hellenistic Era, during the Elizabethan Period, women began collecting treasured cameos as proof of cultural status. But cameos have not always been just for women. As a matter of fact, throughout history, cameos have been adorned by men just as frequently as women with depictions that symbolized their prestige & culture. Men have worn them on rings and other jewelry, as well as on helmets and military breastplates and sword handles. Pope Paul II was known to have a great love of cameos and wore them on his hands, and Napoleon wore one to his wedding and founded a school in Paris, teaching the art of cameo carving to young apprentices looking to learn the skill. It is quite apparent that throughout the centuries, a love for the art of cameos and the distinction they symbolize has endured and still thrives today.