Carved in Stone—or Shell

 I have always loved cameos. I received one as a birthday gift years ago, white carving on a brown background set in an antique gold broach, and it’s one of my favorite pieces of jewelry. Not because I wear it all the time, but because of the history of the gift. My history.

Recently my mother, sister and I were sorting through my grandmother’s jewelry. Among the dozens of bird and animal pins—she loved wearing them for her kindergarten students—were several cameos. Some were plastic, others looked to be rather old. Since GGG (she signed her cards this way for years—it stands for Great Grandmother Grace) didn’t collect fine jewelry, the old pieces were probably her mother’s. Looking at those wonderful pieces got me thinking about the history of the cameo.

The cameo is much older than I thought. Though the origins are still under dispute, most think the word “Cameo” comes from the Hebrew word KAMEA, meaning a charm or amulet, or from the Latin CAMMAEUS, meaning "engraved gem".

Historians believe this carving tradition came from Alexandria, Egypt, nearly three centuries before the birth of Christ. Early Greek and Roman carvings featured images of gods and goddesses, mythological scenes and biblical events. Some immortalized rulers or heroes. During the era of Helen [323BC – 31/30BC], women wore cameos depicting a dancing Eros as an invitation to perspective lovers.

They’ve been used on military uniforms, rings, watch fobs, pins, amulets, vases, cups and dishes. They became a collector’s item during the reign of Queen Elizabeth to demonstrate status and wealth.

Queen Victoria popularized the cameos made of sea shells. Napoleon wore a cameo to his own wedding and founded a school in Paris to teach the art of cameo carving to young apprentices.

Stone, shell and coral are the materials most often used for the carvings. In stones, you’ll find agate and less often, turquoise.

Shell is probably the most commonly used material, because of its availability to carvers in all locations and financial situations. Among the shells used are Cornelian, Cassis Madagascariensis, Empire Helmet or Conch, Sardonyx, and Strombus Giga

The cameos we’re most familiar with show a young woman, hair and dress appropriate to the period of the carving, in various colors.

I still don’t know the origin of the lovely pieces in my grandmother’s collection, but that doesn’t matter so much. I appreciate them for their beauty and the history they represent—my history.

Do any of you own cameos? Do you know where they came from?

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LULU BELL PARR, CHAMPION LADY BUCKING-HORSE RIDER OF THE WORLD

“Bronco busting isn’t a game for the timid and weak,” Buffalo Bill Cody told newspaper reporters in January 1912. “Death lurks close every time a rider mounts up.”

Lulu Bell Parr thrilled audiences around the world with her daring rides on unbroken ponies. Born in 1876, she was only three when her parents died and she and her brother were sent to Ft. Wayne, Indiana to live with their uncle, William Sheehan. She burst onto the Wild West Show scene in 1903, when newly divorced Lulu Bell joined Pawnee Bill’s Wild West Brighton Tour and traveled to Europe where she performed for King Edward VII.

Lulu Bell moved from one wild west show to another, from Pawnee Bill’s to Buffalo Bill Cody’s, to the 101 Ranch Wild West program. With them she toured South America and charmed Argentina’s President Jose Figueroa Alcorta, who showered her with flowers and gift. She moved back to Pawnee Bill’s show in 1916, riding the decline of the entertainment form until her retirement in 1929. Fifty-three and broke, Lulu moved to Dayton, Ohio, to live with her brother and his wife. She spent her days entertaining children in the neighborhood with stories of her travels and the horses she’d ridden.

Lulu Bell Parr died on April 24, 1960, from complications she suffered from a stroke. Among her possessions was an ivory-handled Colt single-action revolver engraved with the words “Buffalo Bill Cody to Lulu Parr – 1911.” Newspapers reported she had so many souvenirs of her career you could hardly walk into her room.

In 2005, Lulu Bell Parr was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas. She was, and is, considered the “Champion Lady Bucking Horse Rider of the World.”



Tracy Garrett

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