EXAMPLES OF RELIGIOUS DESCRIPTIONS IN 15TH AND 16TH CENTURIES HELIOT ROPE AND SHELL CAMEOS
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Stones shaped with glyptography are the pieces of art that have reached today from the Middle Age and Renaissance periods with minimum change in time. They have been used in the post-classical period by collectors as they are valuable materials they are durable, economic, and have an aesthetic quality. Examples of shell cameos and religious depictions carved on them are analyzed in the scope of this study. Cameos are originally based on the use of hard stones; however, artists have started to use shells, lava, and other materials in time. Cameos have been produced in different ways. These are cameos that are produced from valuable and semi-valuable stones and shell cameos that are produced from shellfish. Seashells and pearl cameos were used during the 15th and 16th century Renaissance. Stonemasons especially in Florence and Torre del Greco were very successful in seashell cameo embroidery. As shell cameos are less durable than cameos produced from hard materials, the number of shell cameos that could reach today is fewer compared to the other types of cameos. Shell cameos weren't directly carved like hard stones; they were rather shaped with hand tools. Artists usually preferred burin, knife, or needles when necessary. Shells are separated into pieces with a soft hacksaw, the target shape is achieved, edges are gently thinned and the middle part is left thick. These cameos which had been produced in the 1500s in France and Italy became popular at the beginning of the 19th century in England and in its neighbourhood in the art of jewelry-making. Besides shell cameos, one of the materials on which religious depictions are made is a special stone called heliotrope. This stone, used as a stamp, was used as a talisman as it was believed that it stopped bleeding. As there are red drops on some of these stones, they were used in most Jesus depictions created in 16th century Italy. The belief that stones like carnelian and bloodstone stopped bleeding wasn't merely common in ancient history; people in the 16th century also believed in this idea. Shell cameos, whose production period is easier than hard cameos, used to be very popular and commonly preferred during the Renaissance period. Bloodstone, which was easy to work on, was one of the indispensable materials as they also had red veins on them. However, as they are less durable, the pieces that could survive are limited. Cameo craftsmanship which had been especially popular in Italy and Germany during the Renaissance period started to decrease at the end of the 17th century and was replaced by other ornament techniques; this period had continued until the 19th century when it started to be regarded as a branch of art in Italy. At the end of this century, Rome and Genova were the most successful regions in terms of cameo craftsmanship. During this period, there were 80 shell cameo artists in Rome while there were 30 shell cameo artists in Genova. Different examples of shell cameos and heliotrope cameos are presented in our study.