Cameos 1.

Framed Cameos. Cameos 1. a set of 5 framed Plaster-of-Paris cameos.

mid-19th c

a set of 5 framed Plaster-of-Paris cameos, in a black velvet mount with silver bevels, and a black and silver frame.

Cameos measure 3x4cm, 3,5×4,5cm, dia. 7,5cm, 5x4cm, 5x4cm. overall size 36 x 32 cm.

These are mid-19th century cameos brought home as souvenirs from the Grand Tour which was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means, or those of more humble origin who could find a sponsor. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transport in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage, primarily associated with the British nobility and wealthy landed gentry. The tradition declined with the lapse of neo-classical enthusiasm and after rail and steamship travel made the journeys much easier when Thomas Cook made the “Cook’s Tour” of early mass tourism a byword.