Blown Pink Glass Paperweight, and Beautiful Cameo

The rose pink paperweight is blown glass, and was donated from a private collection. The Italian blown glass paperweight is antique, and would make an interesting conversation piece. This is a perfect holiday gift.

the small antique cameo has a pin-clasp on the back, and is about an inch high.

Gold rim on the reverse has the maker's stamp.This wonderful cameo is hand-crafted using Italian shell carving technique. This antique cameo was part of an estate jewelry sale, and is said to have come from the Del Greco region of Italy.In fine jewelry, the cameo is defined as an ornament carved in relief from a high-quality material such as stone, shell, coral, Gutta-percha, bog oak, ivory, lava, or mother-of-pearl. In costume jewelry, cameos are generally made from molded plastic or glass. Since the late 19th century, the species most used in good-quality cameos has been Cypraecassis rufa, the bullmouth helmet, the shell of which can be up to 6 inches long. In this species, the upper shell layer is whitish, and the lower shell layer is a rich orange-brown. Modern sources for this shell are Madagascar and South Africa. The finest hand-carving of these shells takes place in Italy.The most highly prized shell for carving is the emperor or queen's helmet shell, Cassis madagascariensis. This shell has white and dark brown layers and is known as sardonyx shell, and looks similar to the layered agate known as sardonyx. This shell is found in the waters of the Caribbean.Cameo carved on Cassis madagascariensis by Ascione manufacture, 1925, Naples, Coral and Cameo Jewellery Museum AscioneThe world center for cameo carving in shell is Torre del Greco, Italy. The shells are first marked with a series of ovals in a process called signing, then cut into oval blanks for the cameo carver. The actual cameo is mainly cut with a metal scraping tool called a bulino, an invention of Jewish artisan Antonio Cimeniello. A number of metal gravers are used: flat-faced, round and three-cornered. To speed production, grinding wheels are used to quickly remove excess material. When the details are completed, the shell is then soaked in olive oil, cleaned with soap and water and selectively polished with a hand brush.