Photography by Antonella Schulte
Earlier this week, Antonella Schulte came to the Research Library to study cameos. Antonella is completing a masters degree at Sydney Uni. in Museum studies and as part of the course has to select an object from her own collection and write a formal proposal to a museum, offering the object as an acquisition. This means providing information about the object such as its description, history, provenance, statement of significance, why it would be right for a museum’s collection.
Her grandmother’s cameo had always been something of a curiosity in the family; no one knew where it came from or how old it was. Antonella chose it for the exercise in the hope of finding out more about it.
Photography by Antonella Schulte
She pored through all the books in the Research Library about cameos and mourning jewellery, but found nothing to match the one she had. It is unusual. Instead of being an adornment for jewellery such as belts, brooches, bracelets and necklaces, this cameo consists of an entire shell with the design carved on the outside. The design is also curious. Whereas cameo designs commonly depict scenes from history or myth, this one is different. A neatly bearded man, wearing jacket and trousers, is seated at a small table. He appears to be outdoors, as he has his hat on and there is an umbrella rigged to shade the table. The man is writing, and he is looking, quill poised over paper, at a woman who seems to be addressing him. Her forefinger is raised at the man, perhaps in emphasis or admonishment. She is holding a furled umbrella and has some sort of raised decoration (a crown?) on her head.
It’s interesting to speculate on what’s happening here. Is the man an official, say a census taker, or tax collector? Why is he outside and where is this scene taking place? I wonder if identifying the type of shell might give a clue? And just who is that tall imposing woman?
