Four gems signed by Dexamenos of Chios are the finest of the period, two showing herons. Despite this, very fine detail is shown, including the eyelashes on one male head, perhaps a portrait. In the 5th century gems became somewhat larger, but still only 2-3 centimetres tall. The forms are sophisticated for the period, despite the usually small size of the gems. Gems of the 6th century are more often oval, with a scarab back (in the past this type was called a "scarabaeus"), and human or divine figures as well as animals the scarab form was apparently adopted from Phoenicia. Early examples are mostly in softer stones. Round or oval Greek gems (along with similar objects in bone and ivory) are found from the 8th and 7th centuries BC, usually with animals in energetic geometric poses, often with a border marked by dots or a rim. The biblical Book of Exodus describes the form of the hoshen, a ceremonial breastplate worn by the high priest, bearing twelve gems engraved with the names of the Twelve tribes of Israel. Pre- Hellenic Ancient Egyptian seals tend to have inscriptions in hieroglyphs rather than images. The Greek tradition emerged in Ancient Greek art under Minoan influence on mainland Helladic culture, and reached an apogee of subtlety and refinement in the Hellenistic period. These were made in various types of stone, not all hardstone, and gold rings were a related development in Minoan seals, which are often very fine. The cylinder seal, whose design appears only when it is rolled over damp clay, from which the flat ring type developed, was the usual form in Mesopotamia, Assyria and other cultures, and spread to the Aegean and Minoan world, including parts of Greece and Cyprus. The technique has an ancient tradition in the Near East, and is represented in all or most early cultures from the area, and the Indus Valley civilization. Late Bronze Age II (maybe 14th century BC), from Cyprus in the Minoan period, following Near Eastern precedents. History Īntelopes attacked by birds: cylinder seal in hematite and its impression. Many of these can be shown to have been used since antiquity – since the 7th millennium BC in the case of heating. The colour of several gemstones can be enhanced by a number of artificial methods, using heat, sugar and dyes. In intaglio gems at least, the recessed cut surface is usually very well preserved, and microscopic examination is revealing of the technique used. Byzantine cutters used a flat-edged wheel on a drill for intaglio work, while Carolingian ones used round-tipped drills it is unclear where they learnt this technique from. A medieval guide to gem-carving techniques survives from Theophilus Presbyter. There is no evidence that magnifying lenses were used by gem cutters in antiquity. Some early types of seal were cut by hand, rather than a drill, which does not allow fine detail. Emery has been mined for abrasive powder on Naxos since antiquity. Gems were mostly cut by using abrasive powder from harder stones in conjunction with a hand-drill, probably often set in a lathe. A finely carved seal was practical, as it made forgery more difficult – the distinctive personal signature did not really exist in antiquity. 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. Glyptics or glyptic art covers the field of small carved stones, including cylinder seals and inscriptions, especially in an archaeological context. Vessels like the Cup of the Ptolemies and heads or figures carved in the round are also known as hardstone carvings. 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. The activity is also called gem carving and the artists gem-cutters. This article uses cameo in its strict sense, to denote a carving exploiting layers of differently coloured stone. 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. The engraving of gemstones was a major luxury art form in the Ancient world, and an important one in some later periods. Perhaps 14th century.Īn 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.
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