Seashell cameos

Cameo jewellery has been worn since classical antiquity and consistently reappears in jewellery art. Johanna Kempe owned a small gold garniture with cameos. Cameos can be made using several different materials, such as stone, lava, glass, porcelain or seashells. Johanna’s cameos were carved into a seashell, which is clearly visible from the convex shape. Seashells are the material that most closely resembles the more exclusive banded agates, but which are easier to find and work with and are, therefore, cheaper to produce.