She does appear to be carved lava (which is actually basalt, but lava is the trade term.)
The grape vine draped in her hair indicates she is a bacchante, one of the frenzied (this one is having a calmer moment) female followers of the wine god Bacchus.
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Lava Cameo by: Anonymous
Hi there, What a beautiful piece. From your picture I would also say the cameo is made of lava.
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Could be an ANTIQUE Lava Cameo by: Anna
HI Diane
what a wonderful, exquisite, cameo. The material looks like lava and was popular in the mid 19th century. I am looking at a book on Victorian Jewellery as I am typing, a cameo brooch and the subject in lava, in high relief, looks almost identical to yours; the long flowing hair, the ivy or grape vines, in the hair, the tilt of the head, the sensuous mouth, slightly open. It is circa 1860s and set in rolled gold. The price for the piece in the book, (its a price guide) is $995 and the book was first published in 2004. If thats any help.
kindest regards Anna
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Beautiful Lava brooch by: MargaD
Hello,
This cameo is made from lava. After the discovery of the buried cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae c. 1748, a new type of souvenir jewelry emerged. These towns had been abruptly smothered under a deadly mud flow of volcanic dust, ash, gas and steam by the unexpected eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. A subsequent eruption in 1631, complete with lava, added another layer to the mix. It took almost 1700 years from the first eruption of Mt. Vesuvius for the secret of the missing cities to be revealed.
