Q: Any idea on value for this bone cameo? It belonged to my mother and no one seems to be able to value it.
A: Frankly, the image sent is so blurry that I have a hard time viewing details.
The cameo appears to be set as a round brooch. The bezel is gold tone metal and looks to be in good shape, but composition is impossible to determine. It could be gold or it could be an alloy.
The cameo itself is Oriental in theme and is carved so that it has several dimensions. I can make out a pagoda and what looks like a procession. The work seems to be well carved.
Cameos are an ancient form going back to ancient Greece and Rome. Basically, cameos are carved down into a surface so that the final design is raised and in relief.
The intaglio, a cousin of the cameo, is older. It involves cutting down into a flat surface so that the design is below the surface. Intaglios are commonly cut into onyx, sardonyx or beryl and are usually intended as seals.
Cameos have been made from a variety of surfaces. Shell is best known, but gemstone, lava, bone and (later) plastic cameos are common. Ivory, amber, coral, rubber (gutta-percha), jet and wax were also used. Josiah Wedgwood’s Jasperware is a type of cameo.
Like most jewelry, cameos go in and out of style. Wildly popular in Victorian times, they languished until the 1940s and ’50s when they enjoyed a bubble of interest.
One constant has been interest in quality carving. A beautifully carved, aesthetically pleasing cameo always trumps a mediocre example.
Another factor is the metal used in the bezel or setting. Gold is best, followed by silver. Pure metals always have intrinsic value. It helps if the setting is attractive. Of course, condition matters as well. Chips and cracks are major faults.
Some collectors prefer shell cameos; others want only gemstones. Well done antique lava cameos are in demand, but plastic is for costume jewelry.
Bone as a matrix is a tough sell unless the carving is old and remarkable. On the database www.worthpoint.com, we found an early Victorian, perhaps Georgian, beautifully carved ox bone cameo brooch with a classic head that sold for $547.47 on eBay in 2011. The best always sells.
An antique ox bone, perhaps antler, high relief cameo similar to the reader’s but set in solid silver brought $195 on eBay in 2013. Most standard bone cameos sold for under $100.
Again, poor quality of the image hampers our view. The brooch needs to be seen and handled by someone who knows bone.
A best case scenario is if the piece was made in China around 1880 to 1900 for export.
I suggest that our reader check on eBay and online auction sites for sale results of similar cameos. Take it to a local antiques show for a look-see by a jewelry seller who knows cameos. Offer to pay for their opinion. It’s only fair.
FYI: Learn about cameos of all sorts in “Cameos: Classical to Costume” by Monica Lynn Clements and Patricia Rosser Clements, (Schiffer Publishing, Second edition, $59.99).
