cameo

(click to enlarge)
"The Rape of Europa," cameo in gold and enamel frame, 16th – 17th century; in the … (credit: Courtesy of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna)

Hard or precious stone, glass, ceramic, or shell carved in relief above the surface. It is the opposite of intaglio. Surviving cameos date from the early Sumerian period (c. 3100 BC) to the decline of Roman civilization, and from the Renaissance to the Neoclassical period of the 18th century. They were carved with mythological scenes and portraits, and many commemorated specific persons. In the 18th – 19th century, cameos adorned diadems, belts, brooches, and bracelets.

For more information on cameo, visit Britannica.com.

A type of carved gemstone in which the background is cut away to leave the subject in relief. Often cameos are cut from stones in which the coloring is layered, resulting in a figure of one color and a background of another. The term cameo, when used without qualification, is usually reserved for those cut from a gem mineral, although they are known also as stone cameos. The commonly encountered cameo cut from shell is properly called a shell cameo.

Most cameos are cut from onyx or agate, but many other varieties of quartz, such as tiger's-eye, bloodstone, sard, carnelian, and amethyst, are used; other materials used include beryl, malachite, hematite, labradorite, and moonstone. See also Gem; Intaglio (gemology).

Type: Private
Employees: 200

This company realizes the importance of putting in a cameo. The company is one of the UK's leading upholstered-furniture manufacturers. Cameo's products include recliners, sofas, hide-a-beds, upholstered chairs, and loveseats covered in such materials as leather, woven fabric, and velvet. The mid-priced furniture is manufactured in the UK and Lithuania and distributed through specialty furniture retailers across the UK. In 2005 the company was bought by a newly formed conglomerate of former Christie-Tyler subsidiaries called Sofa Brands International; its name was changed from Cambria to Cameo.

Key numbers for fiscal year ending December, 2008:
Sales: $94.0M

Officers:
Managing Director: Mervyn Partridge
Sales Director: Home Furniture

Competitors:
DFS Furniture
IKEA
John Lewis

In some countries a recognized color variety of longhaired cats with copper-colored eyes and a coat color that is basically a silver, cream or white undercoat with red tips that vary in intensity on different parts of the body.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - kame, karakterstudie

Nederlands (Dutch)
camee, miniatuur-, karakterschets, kleine karakterrol

Français (French)
n. - camée, (Théât, Cin) petit rôle

Deutsch (German)
n. - Kamee, Sketch, Nebenrolle

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - καμέα, αναγλυφόλιθος, σύντομο λογοτέχνημα ή θεατρικό σκετς, εμφάνιση γνωστού ηθοποιού σε σύντομο ρόλο

Italiano (Italian)
cammeo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - camafeu (m)

Русский (Russian)
камея, эпизодическая роль

Español (Spanish)
n. - camafeo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - kamé, karaktärsstudie

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
有浮雕的贝壳

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 有浮雕的貝殼

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 카메오 세공, 주옥 같은 장면

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - カメオ

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) دور صغير في فلم أو مسرحيه, نقش بارز على حجر كريم‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮תכשיט, קמיע, מערכון, תפקיד קטן המשוחק ע"י שחקן ידוע‬

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