Cameo Glass Recalls the Glory of Rome

By Tammy Springer

Some of the finest cameos are neither pins nor pendants, butpainstaking carvings on delicate pieces of Art Glass. The Romans developed the technique. They succeeded in creating breathtaking pieces with classical scenes whisked from ancient dreams. Then, for thousands of years, the fabulous art was lost—until a one-of-a-kind vase made a special appearance in England.

This most famous piece of cameo glass is named the Portland Vase, a cobalt blue beauty with an intricate white cameo decoration in vivid relief. The vase dates to the First Century BC, but it came to modern attention in 1783 when the Duchess of Portland bought it on its arrival in England. Almost overnight, the famed vase inspired copies throughout the country. Wedgwood even produced a pottery version in Jasperware, with the white relief in the form of tiny separate porcelain details applied with slip. However, the actual cameo glass process is a different matter entirely.

Cameo glass is produced by using a solid body of glass in one color, usually a darker tone, and covering it with one or more layers of a contrasting shade of glass, most often white, but some pieces even combine three or more colors. Next, the glass artisan hand-carves away the background to reveal the original color beneath. The final step is adding engraved details to the scene for a sharp, finished look with striking detail.

The cameo glass revival surged in the 1880s. It started with many classically inspired scenes and branched out into elaborate florals, landscapes and even Oriental compositions. Big-name glass artisans such as John and Joseph Northwood, Alphonse Lechevrel, Emile Galle, Joseph Locke and especially the Woodall brothers George and Thomas made exquisite exhibition pieces and commercial examples that set the Art Glass world on fire.

Of course, each piece required a phenomenal amount of time and labor to produce. Public demand for cameo glass grew tenfold, so special techniques were developed to help speed the process. Glass artisans discovered that they could apply fewer layers of the topcoat glass and use machine-engraving methods that helped speed things up considerably. Next, the process of acid etching was introduced to help quickly burn away the top layers around the design. Of course, while they were more efficient, none of these shortcuts produced as high a quality of raised and detailed cameo glass as the original hand methods.

You'll find only a few companies left that produce fine handcrafted cameo glass today, such as the Pilgrim Glass Co. in West Virginia. Many of the best antique cameo pieces of a century ago now bring in tens of thousands of dollars each, and even the new pieces start at a few hundred each for the simpler pieces, moving up to several thousand for more complex items with three or more colors. Such prices are certainly understandable: it's hard to put a price on anything that takes such skill, time, patience and love to produce.

Cameo glass is one of the loveliest of all glass collectibles, but beware what you buy. Many people have come to use the term "cameo" as a generic catch-all word for any sort of white decoration on a colored background piece. Enameled glass items and pottery pieces in the Jasper ware style are wonderful finds in their own right, but few command cameo glass prices.

So if you dare to dream, dream big, and discover the joys of building a fine cameo glass collection of your own. Even if you only buy one special piece, you'll hold a treasure fit for Roman emperors in your own two hands.

Tammy Springer is a Channel Manager with the Collecting Channel. These are the opinions of the author, not the opinions of eBay, and therefore eBay does not validate the accuracy of or endorse these opinions.