OCR Text |
Show CAMEOS RESTORED TO FA7C Ancient Art Has Resumed PopuJ-K'. Cnyx and Shell Bet Liked in Present Day, The earliest safety pin came fro M-enae, and fo did what Is prol,::'. the earliest :i.-t:ng cameo. It is . liille recumLi nt .ion carved in a:.s thyst, and he reposes today in t:. British Museum. This cameo is to sculpture what t'. i miniature is to the easel picture ' is a small-sized low relief carved up; a hard stone or gem. The onyx i sardonyx, which is to be found in v rious shaded layers, was the favor!. materia) (or a cameo of old. Tfue Roman ladies of Rome's i:n; rial days wore cameo ornaments i their hair. The nobles wore them o their armor and as shoulder brooch or fastenings to their cloaks. Ca:i:n. cutting became then a great art, slum irg the rarest delicacy and cunning o hand. Portrait cameos were first favo Jies in the days of ancient Rome, a also after the Renaissance were po traits and c assic heads. Medusa w-j very often chosen as subject becau.-of becau.-of her tragic face and her wing-head wing-head where serpents writhed anion :. her tangled locks. When England's warriors returned from the wars of the crusades they brought with them, among hosts o: other treasures from the east, the first cameos ever seen there. "Gno.l Queen Hess," who loved to have net-portrait net-portrait taken, sent for a cameo cutter cut-ter from France, and she v,as duly sculptured in turquoise and cut numberless num-berless times in onyx. But it is- the old-fashioned shell cameo which has become so dear to women collectors. When delicately rut it should have a delicious creamy softness, a precious richness of effect. An onyx cameo, on the other hand, is bright, glistening, brilliant, and it is fur more durable. London Mail. |