This Intaglio is Set in a 24 Karat Gold Ring
The art of glyptics, or carving on colored
precious stones, is probably one of the oldest
known to humanity. Intaglios, gems with an
incised design, were made as early as the fourth
and third millennia BC in Mesopotamia and the
Aegean Islands. They display a virtuosity of
execution that suggests an old and stable
tradition rooted in the earliest centuries. The
tools required for carving gems were simple: a
wheel with a belt-drive and a set of drills.
Abrasives were necessary since the minerals
used were too hard for a "metal edge. A special
difficulty of engraving intaglios, aside from their
miniature size, was that the master had to work
with a mirror-image in mind.
Due to an increase in the number of collectors
with a passion for Greek and Roman history, the
eighteenth century saw a revival of interest in
jewelry created in the c1assical style. Master
engravers from England and France traveled to
Italy in search of models to study. They made
countless drawings of marble statuary and
ancient coins often found in private collections.
This pure and elegant style can be seen in this
lovely intaglio, showing the noble head of a
woman. The fact there is a spear in the
background suggests she is Athena, who carried
a spear and wore a helmet. Her powerful
expression is also suitable to the goddess of war.
However, Athena had her softer side in her role
presiding over art and literature, and as
patroness of spinners, embroiderers and
weavers. This blend of strength and gentleness is
equaled in this superb ring, which is both
powerful and delicate; resplendent in its gold
setting and destined to shine for centuries to
come.
- (FJ.6337)
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