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Cameos

CAMEO MAKING

The most used shells in cameo makign are:

1. CASSIS MADAGASCARENSIS: also colled “Sardonix helmet”, about 30cm tall. I’ts colour is dark brown on the bottom, and white on the surface, where the shell is engraved;

2. CASSIS RUFA: also called “Cornelian Helmet”, about 16cm tall. This shell has an inner reddish layer, and on the outside, where the shell is engraved, it’s flash-coloured;

3. CASSIS CORNUTA: also called “Orange Helmet”, about 25cm. This shell has an inner orange layer, and a white one on the outside;

4. CYPREA TIGRIS: also called “Tigrina”, 5-10cm tall. This shell has 7 coloured layers, that are: striped brown on the surfac, than a wittish light yellow, greysh sky-blue, two nuances of violet, and the last layer is lightly blue cloured;

5. STROMBUS GIGAS: also called “Pink Shell”, about 16cm tall. It’s pink and white layers aren’t completely distinguishable. It’s also used in the production of necklaces and buttons.

The shells of cassis family are generally fished in: Monzambique, Madagascar and Kenya. They are perfect for engraving because as a matter of fact, the two coloured layers, clearly distinguishable, allow to separate the figure in rilief from one on the bottom. The Cyprea Tigres and Strobus Gigas are fished in the Indo-Pacific Ocean and un the Bahamas Iles.

THE PREPARATION

After the choise of proper shells for the cameo makign, there is the “scoppatura”, that consist in cutting theupperl, the most convex part of the shell, called “coppa”. In the past, this operation was made by a lathe’s disk saw.After this cut, the engraver sketches the coppa, with indeleble ink, the cameo’s edges and the mark of the cut on the outside, this phase is called “marking”.

Successively the “shapings” made the cut of the “coppa”along the perimeter previosly sketched out; in this way polygonal shaped pieces are obtained. Thanks to a carborondum spring it is possible to give the desired shape to the pieces of shell (generally an oval shape).

These pieces are fixed on the wood castings with a hot putty composed by colophony, wax and “Scagliola”.

Finally, thanks to the carborondum spring, the external part of the shell is abraded and the light layer engrave that has to be remains on the surface.

THE ENGRAVING

At the beginning the engraver draws the image that has to be reproduced in the surface of the shell; after the light part is removed with large pointed burins, and the image is sketched in its essential features. After this the engraver goes on by engravng eith burins of differents sizes, to make the relief clearer.

THE FINISHING

Using thinner burins, the details of the figure in rilief are engraved, than the cameo is removed from the spindle and it is brushed with pumices and oil to makethe surface more polished. The bottom is cleaned with a wooden stick and a mixture of pumice, oil and vitriol. Successively the first rough-shaping is made and so the cameo is washed with water and soap; after the cameo is dipped into oil to make it aspect better. The Cameo is washed again with water and soap, and the it is dried up with a flax cloth. After this, it’s finised.