A short cameo history   Of course is not possible to publish here an exhaustive history of the cameo, would be too much long! We warmly suggest you to buy a good book for a comfortable reading (please visit the bibliography page). Here I want just only give you a very few and very short informations. The first engraved stones known as "intaglios" and the first cameos are prehistoric and were intended as amulets since they generally depicted magic symbols. Magnificent examples of this type of glyptic art, such as the Egyptian scarabs found in archeological museums or the carved ivory pieces of ancient Babylon, predate the portraits and mythological depictions of ancient Greece. The cameo originated as a symbol of power and wealth, and the earliest examples are ancestral portraits and depictions of deities thought to protect the family. For this reason, and because of the cameo's artistic quality, they were collected by emperors, noblemen, popes, and wealthy families. Ancient cameos carved from agate were extremely expensive, perhaps even more expensive than they are today. From the Middle Ages to the Neoclassical period cameos were often mounted onto important jewelry, such as crowns, rings, buckles and pendants, and they were considered as prestigious then as diamonds and rubies are today. Some of the many important collections now found in museums originally belonged to the powerful Medici family of Florence and members of the Italian, French and Russian royalty. Since Pommeraie Antiques deals primarily in cameos from the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in particular, we wish to say a few words about this period. First and foremost we should bear in mind that during this period aristocratic society underwent a dramatic transformation as more and more aristocrats became less powerful and a new class, the bourgeoisie or middle class, gained importance. Jewelry was transformed during this period as well when members of the bourgeoisie, in imitation of the aristocracy, began purchasing cameos carved more often than not from shell because agate cameos were simply too expensive. The Neoclassical Era (1770-1820) is the last "Golden Age" of the agate cameo, whereas the "Golden Age" of cameos carved from shell is immediately after the period 1800-1850. It is of course still possible to find exceptionally beautiful agate cameos carved in the mid to late nineteenth century. By that time, however, they were no longer a reflection of aristocratic status. Instead, they were a reflection of the owner's desire to emulate the aristocracy from an earlier period. In general, these cameos are not of much interest.