Roberta Hutton, age 16, or Monroe, La., for her question:

WHEN WAS THE FIRST CAMEO MADE?

A cameo is a precious or semiprecious gemstone with carved decoration. A cameo may also be of shell, colored glass or porcelain.

Although the art of gem carving was known in very early times, cameo carving did not become an art until the fourth or third century B.C. in Greece. Cameos were also popular in ancient Rome and then from the Renaissance to the present day.

Cameos may have intaglio decoration (design engraved below the surface) or, for cameos proper, relief decorating (design carved above the surface). Motifs may be heads in profile, figures, coats of arms or other devices.

Most relief cameos consists of two or more layers of different colors. The top layer is carved and the darker, lower layer forms a background.

Cameos are used as jewelry, such as brooches, pendants and rings.