Cameo is a method of carving an object such as an engraved gem, item of jewellery or vessel made in this manner. It nearly always features a raised (positive) relief image; contrast with intaglio, which has a negative image. Originally, and still in discussing historical work, cameo only referred to works where the relief image was of a contrasting colour to the background; this was achieved by carefully carving a piece of material with a flat plane where two contrasting colours met, removing all the first colour except for the image to leave a contrasting background.

Today the term may be used very loosely for objects with no colour contrast, and other, metaphorical, terms have developed, such as cameo appearance. This derives from another generalized meaning that has developed, the cameo as an image of a head in an oval frame in any medium, such as a photograph.

Technique

Ancient and Renaissance cameos were made from semi-precious gemstones, especially the various types of onyx and agate, and any other stones with a flat plane where two contrasting colours meet; these are "hardstone" cameos. In cheaper modern work, shell and glass are more common. Glass cameo vessels, such as the famous Portland Vase, were also developed by the Romans.

Cameo may refer to:

A cameo role or cameo appearance (/ˈkæmioʊ/; often shortened to just cameo) is a brief appearance or voice part of a known person in a work of the performing arts, typically unnamed or appearing as themselves. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly either appearances in a work in which they hold some special significance (such as actors from an original movie appearing in its remake), or renowned people making uncredited appearances. Short appearances by celebrities, film directors, politicians, athletes or musicians are common. A crew member of the show or movie playing a minor role can be referred to as a cameo as well, such as Alfred Hitchcock's frequently performed cameos.

History, uses and examples

Originally "cameo role" meant "a small character part that stands out from the other minor parts". The Oxford English Dictionary connects this with the meaning "a short literary sketch or portrait", which is based on the literal meaning of "cameo". More recently, "cameo" has come to refer to any short appearances, whether as a character or as oneself, such as the examples below.

Cameo is the eighth studio album released by singer Dusty Springfield. Cameo is her first LP for the ABC Dunhill Records label. It was recorded in the States between July and October 1972 and released in the UK (by Philips Records) in May 1973, having appeared in the States some three months earlier. Cameo was produced by Steve Barri, Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter who later went on to write and produce major hits for among others Glen Campbell, The Four Tops and The Tavares. The album also included material written by Alan O'Day, David Gates, Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson and Van Morrison and among the all-star line up of musicians contributing were Hal Blaine, Paul Humphrey, Larry Carlton, Wilton Felder, Carol Kaye, Victor Feldman, Michael Omartian, Venetta Fields and Clydie King.

While Cameo was only a moderate critical success and a commercial failure in 1973 – charting neither in the UK nor the US – it has since been re-evaluated by both fans and music critics alike and is now often cited as one of the highlights of Springfield's recording career alongside 1969's Dusty in Memphis. A planned second album on the ABC Dunhill label with the working title of Elements (eventually re-titled Longing), was started, but never finished, due to Springfield's personal problems at the time. Most of the uncompleted album Longing can also be found on the Hip-O Records compilation Beautiful Soul, released in the United States in 2001.