Gallery 1
Framed Cameos

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Cameos became particularly popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, collected by travellers to Italy while on their Grand Tour. The Greeks and Romans made intaglios or sealing stamps out of precious and semi precious gemstones where the image was cut into the stone like a mould. These were so hard that normal engraving tools would make no impression and so drills, powered by a bow, were used. The intaglio could then be applied with wax or soft clay as a seal for anything from documents to boxes and even doors. They were also used for marking property, and because of their decorative appeal, as jewellery - set in rings or amulets. Cameos are the relief impressions of these engraved gemstones. Made out of plaster, they are available in white, polished black and wax red, framed with a range of backgrounds including original nineteenth century legal documents, silk or painted gesso.

These frames are also available any size without the cameos. The dimensions refer to the width of the moulding. The sight edge is that nearest the artwork, the outer edge is that furthest from it.

	Pattern 16 Polished black flat frame with double semi-circle gilded sight edge. Width 5.5cm approx. Shown with a cameo of The Three Graces.
	Pattern 18 Antiqued oil gilded frame with flat sight and outer edge and gently sloping central section. Width 5.5cm approx. Shown with a cameo on a background of original nineteenth century legal vellum.
	Pattern 19 Antiqued gilded flat frame with balls on sight and outer edge. Various punched and incised decoration. Width 7cm approx. Shown with a plaque of Hadrian (9cm diameter approx) on a painted gesso background.
	Pattern 21 Antiqued gilded (silver dutch leaf and gold dutch leaf) fluted pilaster frame. Width 7.5 cm approx. Shown with a collection of cameos over a background of original nineteenth century legal vellum.
	Pattern 20 Antiqued oil gilded octagonal frame with quarter circle scoop in black on sight edge. Width 3.5cm approx. Shown with a collection of cameos on a painted gesso background.
	Pattern 3 Antiqued gilt flat frame with raised sight edge and scooped quarter circle outer edge. Various punched decoration. Width 8.5cm approx. Shown with a collection of cameos on a gessoed and painted background.
	Pattern 17 Antiqued oil gilded and distressed frame with rope outer edge and incline to sight edge. Width 4.5cm approx. Shown with a collection of cameos on a background of original nineteenth century legal vellum.

Please remember that all my frames are hand made, this means you can have the finish on one transferred to another, you can have more or less gilding on a frame, and you can have any mat or none at all. Do note that this also means that unless a set of identical frames is made at the same time, slight variations in finish may occur, perhaps imperceptible when in different rooms, but which may show up if placed side by side.