This antique seal has been mounted in
a
modern
18 karat gold ring.
The art of glyptics, carving on
colored
semiprecious stones, is probably one
of
the
oldest art forms known to man.
Intaglios,
gems
with an incised design, were made as
early as the
fourth and third millennia B.C. In
Mesopotamia
and the Aegean islands, their
virtuosity of
execution suggesting an old tradition
rooted in
the earlier centuries. However, the
gems
from
ancient Greece and Rome are worthy of
special
interest for it was then and there
that the
expressive and aesthetic language of
glyptics
was truly born. It was also during
this
period
that portrait gems emerged. This
classical
revival
intaglio, depicting an ancient Roman
emperor,
evidences this classic tradition of
skilled
carving,
and the portrayal of an emotional
intensity
that is
indeed exceptional. This striking
intaglio,
set in
a gold ring that complements its
ageless
beauty,
is a testament to the heritage of
stone
sculpting-
-an artistry whose grandness belies
the
small
scale of the finished work of art.
- (FJ.5243)
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