Customer Reviews

Cameos Old and New

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

When most people think of cameos, they think of the standard woman's profile carved from shell and mounted as a brooch or necklace. But the art of the cameo encompasses far more than that. Historically, it dates back to the ancient world, and over the centuries many materials have been used in making these works of art. Although female heads are probably the most common subject, mythological figures, animals, portraits of individuals, and many other things have found their way onto cameos. The quality can range all the way from cheap mass-produced modern items to fine hand-crafted pieces worthy of any museum.

Anna Miller's "Cameos" is a wonderful introduction to cameos. She covers the history of the form, the subjects normally found and what each one looks like--very useful in an age where few people know their mythology. She describes the different materials that have been used in making cameos--including lava from Mt. Vesuvius, shell, agate, onyx, plastic, and glass. There's an extensive section on how cameos are made and on the people who made (and make) them. One particularly useful discussion describes the differences between traditional hand-carved works and those made by modern ultrasonic machines (vital for any modern buyer). The author also gives information on how to evaluate quality and condition and on market value. The book is illustrated throughout with black and white pictures, and there is an extensive color section in the middle. One of the best things about this book is that the author is able to convey her appreciation of the art of cameos to the reader. "Cameos" is an essential reference for anyone who wants to acquire a knowledge and understanding of this art. Highly recommended.

I am one of the small number of portrait cameo carvers on gemstone.

I found this book to be excellent. There is a wealth of detail on all aspects of cameos. There are also good illustrations. There is valuable info for collectors on identifying and valuing Cameos.

Information on how to distinguish Ultrasonic Cameos from the more valuable hand-carved cameos is given.

You will gain a lot of knowledge on how Cameos are made and valued from reading this title.

Cameos were a hallmark of social status and intrinsically beautiful adornments down through the centuries. Anna M. Miller's "Cameos: Old & New" has now been substantially revised, updated and expanded by Diana Jarrett for this newly published fourth edition of an antiques industry standard reference. A core reference guidebook, "Cameos: Old & New" provides invaluable information, instruction and advice on where to seek out cameos for acquisition, distinguishing old cameos from new ones, imitations and synthetic cameos from antiquarian ones, and separating ultrasonically produced cameos from hand-carved ones. Enhanced with a profusion of black-and-white as well as color images, "Cameos: Old & New" also covers defining the value of cameos, buying cameos from retailer sand dealers through either the Internet or at auction, ranging and classifying cameos, reviews of cameo artists from around the globe including contact information, and offering a cogent explanation of 'The MasterValuer Program' with respect to cameos. Laced throughout with 'info bits' of special interest to cameo enthusiasts and collectors, "Cameos: Old & New" is an essential reference and a welcome addition to personal, professional, academic, and community library Antiques & Collectibles guidebook collections.

Ms. Miller is one of the world's experts on gems and jewelry appraising! She has courses all over the globe in her Master Valuer Program including a major university here in the US! She takes this expertise and her love of cameos and really has written a comprehensive text on cameos. I think it will help the history buff, jewelry appraiser and anyone who has an interest in cameos. GREAT BOOK!

This book is extremely useful for anyone new to cameo collecting. There is an extensive history of the cameo, information on famous cameo artists, as well as the different materials used for cameos. It contains a small section on how to date cameos, and how to spot fakes. Overall, a great book for the beginner.

If you love cameos and collect them this is a wonderful little book for you. Tells you the history, the types, the reasons for certain styles, how to tell the age, how to tell the value, and all the necessary terminology for discussing them. Good illustrations are also a plus.

There may be the makings of a good reference work here, but this is not it.

The most disappointing aspect from a collector's viewpoint is the lack of even approximate dates in the majority of photo captions. New and old are intermixed, and trying to track down the corresponding text to determine the period is a real chore--and even then one is often left in the dark because the text is so very unclear and uninformative. The best way to help collectors is to illustrate everything and provide clear, accessible explanations of every image. That is where this book falls down.

To be honest, the whole thing reads like a rough draft. Apart from the countless typos, grammatical errors, and stylistic problems, the text is at once repetitive and confusing. In a work that spans more than two millennia, the author continually describes things as "early," as if the meaning were self-evident. "Instant expert" bullet points provide tips that are (rightly) disavowed in the text itself. Sometimes the text refers to a supposedly early style or technique and then illustrates it with a recent example. The explanation of sulfides (to take one example) is deficient and misleading. Meanwhile, many paragraphs are taken up with general caveats about the importance of expertise and the difficulty of discerning forgeries, and many pages are filled with vague, unillustrated discussions of ancient gems and gem engravers.

A tip to publishers: If something is worth publishing, it is worth editing. If it isn't worth editing, why publish it? By cutting corners in this way, you are just hastening your own demise.

This is probably the best book about cameos out there. It tells of the origins of cameos, different materials used in cameos, how to tell real cameos from fakes, how to tell if you have a real good cameo, a price guide, etc. It covers all the bases. A must for the collector or for anyone interested in cameos.

The book is very thorough and spotting every important and relevant issue concerning old and newer cameos. Very easy to read and remember, giving all that's good to know about cameos. Recommended for anyone interested in knowing them - collectors, dealers, teachers...

The only thing is that almost all of the photographs are in black & white, and in a rather poor quality. If the photos were in good quality color, this would have just made the book perfect. I, for one, would be happy to pay for the difference.

I liked the book. It could of had alot more information in it because there was a few things that I did not get answered...like I had hoped. But I guess you can't expect one book to give you all the information that a person seeks.