Cameo - what's this? Famous cameos in history

The art of carving on stone appeared several millennia ago. One of the most famous works, emerging from the skillful hands of the master, are considered cameos. This product made of precious or semiprecious stone, on which a convex image of a mineral of a different color or shade is cut, first appeared in the 4th century BC. E. The homeland of such elegant products is considered by many experts to be Alexandria. As for the origin of the very name "cameo", there are different points of view. It could be formed from the Persian word chumahau, Latin camahatus or Italian chama.

At the very beginning of their journey these miniature products were cut only on multicolored semi-precious stones - jasper and sardonyx. However, over time, in order to perform exquisite cameos, the masters began to successfully use topazes and amethysts, emeralds and aquamarines. Usually a darker material is taken for the background, then images from the lighter material are then superimposed. Agate with its layered, multi-colored structure is considered to be the ideal stone, suitable for making stones.

The development of stone carving art

Cut cameos with the use of rotating copper wheels. Abrasive usually served as a powder of corundum or diamond dust. Finishing was carried out with a mixture of hematite powder and olive oil. The carver worked almost blindly. Since the abrasive composition covered the picture.

Ancient masters of carving on stone owned the techniques of relief work, but they were used very rarely. Mostly these were stone cylinders (seals with a handle) or the reverse side of a sacred scarab beetle. Most often, these works were made of a single stone. However, art developed rapidly. Portraits of rulers, Egyptian deities, various kinds of ornaments, decor elements, various ornaments - all these are signs of the increasing popularity of gems among the wealthy inhabitants of Alexandria.

Cameo, this is the real art of stone cutting, you can see in the products of masters of Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece. For works of art of those times is characterized by an unusual fineness of the work, simplicity, rigor and grace.

The most dramatic turn of the cameo story occurred in the 17-18 centuries, during the Renaissance. Although the ancient cameo is considered a kind of standard of beauty, the Italian masters managed not only to approach perfection, but also to give impetus to the development of stone-cutting art in other countries.

Stories of kameys and their practical application

The plot depicted by the master on the cameo, influenced the practical application of the product in real life. Almost all aspects of human existence are reflected in gems and cameos. For the bride's gift, the items with scenes from Cupid and Psyche were more preferable. Plots with Proserpine stolen from his mother were more suitable for people in mourning or experiencing some kind of misfortune. Lawyers, servants of Themis, were given articles with plots representing the justice of the gods (for example, the torture of Marcia). The scenes of military operations were usually cut out on cameos intended for soldiers. Plots of similar products of those times are literature and theater, religion and politics.

However, it can not be said that gems and cameos were meant only for aesthetic pleasure. These items also served as amulets, which ancient people wore on the neck in the form of a pendant or on the fingers in the form of rings. Very popular were seals embedded in the rings, and the rings themselves with carved stones, which were customary to give as a sign of special disposition. Often the products of stone-carving art served as an offering to the gods. Often the masters cut out just the inscriptions on the stones, without any images. These texts could carry a different semantic load: from the dedication formulas to the name of the owner.

Famous Products

The most famous cameos in history were created in Alexandria by Greek masters, servants at the Ptolemaic court. The masterpieces of those times include the unique "Gonzaga Cameo". Also to the most outstanding one can include such close to each other products as "Augusta Cameo" and "Gemma Tiberius" (the largest in the world).

Gonzaga Cameo

The product is quite large (15.7 x 11.8 x 3 cm). The cameo shows two profiles: Ptolemy and Arsinoe. Since 1542, scientists have succeeded in tracing the history of cameos. These are seven changes of owners for 400 years and several crossings of Europe. The penultimate owner of the masterpiece, Josephine Beauharnais, presented a cameo to the Russian Tsar Alexander I as a token of gratitude for the patronage he had provided (he took care of her safety and helped preserve a large fortune). In 1814, the product of stone-carving art arrived in Russia and is still kept in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

Augusta Cameo

The composition is 19.05 x 22.86 cm. The cameo consists of two registers. The goddess Venus crowns with the laurel wreath of Emperor Augustus (depicted in the center). As for the other characters of the work, the points of view of scientists differ: according to some, they are Roman gods, in the opinion of others - real people surrounding the ruler.

"Cameo Tiberius"

According to Napoleon, this work is a great French cameo. On the three registers with high accuracy, two dozen figures are depicted, among them Tiberius and Livia sitting on the throne, Germanicus with his mother Anthony. In the upper register among the gods is the Emperor Augustus, surrounded by deceased members of his family. In the lower register - defeated soldiers with their women and children. For 2000 years of its existence the cameo was stolen twice, it was sold, given. Three times a masterpiece left Paris and came back. Currently he is in the collection of the Cabinet of Medals.

Famous and little-known, simple and amazingly precious cameos - this is a frozen history, an opportunity to look at the ancient world through the centuries and millennia, to understand how society developed and became more complicated.