Roman intaglio portrait of Caracalla in amethyst, once in the Treasury of Sainte-Chapelle. At some point it was adapted by adding an inscription and cross to represent Saint PeterRelief cameo of a Roman prince. Perhaps 14th century.
An engraved gem, frequently referred to as an intaglio, is a small and usually semi-precious gemstone that has been carved, in the Western tradition normally with images or inscriptions only on one face.[1] The engraving of gemstones was a major luxury art form in the ancient world, and an important one in some later periods.[2]
Strictly speaking, engraving means carving in intaglio (with the design cut into the flat background of the stone), but relief carvings (with the design projecting out of the background as in nearly all cameos) are also covered by the term. This article uses cameo in its strict sense, to denote a carving exploiting layers of differently coloured stone. The activity is also called gem carving and the artists gem-cutters. References to antique gems and intaglios in a jewellery context will almost always mean carved gems; when referring to monumental sculpture, the term counter-relief, meaning the same as intaglio, is more likely to be used. Vessels like the Cup of the Ptolemies and heads or figures carved in the round are also known as hardstone carvings.
Glyptics or glyptic art covers the field of small carved stones, including cylinder seals and inscriptions, especially in an archaeological context. Though they were keenly collected in antiquity, most carved gems originally functioned as seals, often mounted in a ring; intaglio designs register most clearly when viewed by the recipient of a letter as an impression in hardened wax. A finely carved seal was practical, as it made forgery more difficult – the distinctive personal signature did not really exist in antiquity.
^Fully half of the antique engraved gems in the Berlin museums and the British Museum are either sard or carnelian, Etta M. Saunders, noted. Saunders, "Goddess Riding a Goat-Bull Monster: A Ceres Zodiac Gem from the Walters Art Gallery" The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery49/50 (1991/1992;7–11) note 19
^The three preeminent European collections of post-Classical engraved gems are the Cabinet des Médailles at the Bibliothèque nationale, Paris, the Habsburg collection, Vienna, and the British Museum, London, O. M. Dalton observed in "Mediæval and Later Engraved Gems in the British Museum — I" The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs23 No. 123 (June 1913:128-136) and "II" The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs24 No. 127 (October 1913:28–32).
An engravedgem, frequently referred to as an intaglio, is a small and usually semi-precious gemstone that has been carved, in the Western tradition normally...
achieved by a master engraver, counterfeiting of engraved designs is almost impossible, and modern banknotes are almost always engraved, as are plates for...
stone, minerals, or gemstones into decorative items such as cabochons, engravedgems (including cameos), and faceted designs. A person who practices lapidary...
was largely employed in antiquity for intaglio engravedgems. The ancient Greeks believed amethyst gems could prevent intoxication, while medieval European...
with her husband Ptolemy III) as the personification of Alexandria. The engravedgem was a luxury art with high prestige; Pompey and Julius Caesar were among...
Gem of Augustus) is an ancient Roman low-relief cameo engravedgem cut from a double-layered Arabian onyx stone. It is commonly agreed that the gem cutter...
objects carved have included those with ritual or religious purposes, engravedgems as signet rings and other kinds of seal, handles, belt hooks and similar...
The Poniatowski gems are a collection of over 2,600 engravedgems commissioned by Prince Stanisław Poniatowski (1754–1833), a wealthy Polish nobleman...
intaglio on the flat bezel. The Pylos Combat Agate is an exceptionally fine engravedgem, probably made in the Late Minoan, but found in a Mycenaean context....
Crystal (also known as the Lothar Crystal or the Susanna Crystal) is an engravedgem from Lotharingia in northwest Europe, showing scenes of the biblical...
of cutting a design into a surface, may refer to: Intaglio, a type of engravedgem or metal signet ring Intaglio (printmaking), a group of printmaking techniques...
The "Marlborough gem" is a carved onyx cameo that depicts an initiation ceremony of Psyche and Eros. It is the most famous engravedgem in the extensive...
finger, while others wore none. Roman men and women wore rings with an engravedgem on it that was used with wax to seal documents, a practice that continued...
popular, and conveniently portable, type of object collected was the engravedgem. Many Greek and Hellenistic artists were very well-known and sought after...
of necklace-clasps, a gold amulet designed as a pendant, an unmounted engravedgem, four beads (one emerald and three of glass), and a gold belt-buckle...
technique is not to be confused with "counter-relief" or intaglio as seen on engravedgem seals—where an image is fully modeled in a "negative" manner. The image...
Romanesque art, and the engraved crucifixion on the reverse looks forward to the later period. The cross takes its name from the large engraved greenish rock crystal...
art of about 30 BC, where it was an alternative to the more luxurious engravedgem vessels in cameo style that used naturally layered semi-precious gemstones...
is the study of engravedgems, or of engravings on gems. Archaeology Gemology Mogul Mughal Emerald, a large emerald with much engraved text "Four seniors...
and gems, and the figures which may legitimately be engraved on them (Paed. 241 ff.; 287 ff.). But no attempt to identify the figures on existing gems with...
liv. 19 ii. 88 ii. 17. a King, Charles William (1885). Handbook of EngravedGems (2nd ed.). London: George Bell and Sons. pp. viii. Raccette-Campbell...
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