Cameo Pendants

From profile portraits to charming vignettes, cameo pendants come with a comprehensive past. The cameo got its start in the ancient world, with examples dating to the eras of ancient Egypt and Rome. These earliest pieces were what is known as hardstone cameos, meaning they were carved from a stone such as agate. This provided the organic color striations for which a cameo is known.

In the 18th century, the popularity of the cameo, combined with the expensive production of the hardstone version, resulted in innovative alterations of technique. It was around this time that artists began carving cameos out of coral and shell, both of which were softer and thus easier to manipulate. Another approach, instigated by Scottish artist James Tassie, was to create plaster casts of hard stone cameos and then reproduce them in pressed glass plates.

By the 19th century, the cameo had exploded across fields, and it continued its steady stream of popularity into the 20th century, with cameos becoming a fashion statement in the post-war years.

Quick Facts

• The oldest record cameo piece dates to ancient Egypt. Uncovered in Alexandria, the hardstone (agate) cameo was reportedly carved in the 3rd century B.C.
• 19th-century French Empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon I, was rumored to wear a shell cameo necklace everyday. Soon after, England’s Queen Victoria also began sporting one on a regular basis
• American Regionalist Grant Wood featured a cameo necklace on the neck of the woman in his iconic early 20th century painting “American Gothic” (1930); a few years later, actress Vivien Leigh brought cameos to the silver screen in the large brooch she wore in “Gone with the Wind” (1938)