The Indus Valley glyptic art
Stamp seal and a modern impression: unicorn or bull and inscription, Mature Harappan period, ca. 2600–1900 B.C.
Indus Valley
Burnt steatite; 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 in. (3.8 x 3.8 cm)
Dodge Fund, 1949 (49.40.1)

Stamp seals were used in antiquity as marks of ownership and badges of status. In the large urban centers of the Harappan civilization, hundreds of square-shaped stamp seals were found in excavations. They are engraved with images of wild or domestic animals, humans, fantastic creatures, and possibly divinities. The bull is the most popular animal motif on the Indus Valley glyptic art. In this example, the animal is rendered in the typical strict profile, standing before what might be an altar. Its shoulder is covered by a decorated quilt or harness in the shape of an upside-down heart pattern. Most of the square stamp seals have inscriptions along the top edge. The Indus script, invented around 2600 B.C., is yet to be fully deciphered.

About Carl Faberge Museum

                           

Russian art collector A. Ivanov opened the Fabergé Museum on 15 May 2009 in the German spa city of Baden-Baden in order to share his great collection with the world. The museum's more than 700 items, including two Imperial Easter Fabergé Eggs, famous Rotschild Easter Egg, stone figure of Buddha ex. p-ty Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, ex. pro-ty of Greek King Georg I, British Royal Family and the hole range of other very important gold-, silver- and precious stone masterpieces made by Fabergé.

                                                         

                                                                 The Buddha
                              Sartorite, gold, brilliants, rubies, enamel on gold guilloche.


There exist only 11 similar figures in the world made by Fabergé and Cartier. Mobile parts of the figure are balanced by internal system of counterbalances; head, hands and a ruby tongue rock smoothly when the statue is moved. It belonged to the collection of Aristotle Onassis, the famous Greek ship owner and billionaire. Subsequently it was passed on to several generations of Onassis family, including Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis who also owned the statue for a certain period.
K. Fabergé, St. Petersburg. The end of the 19th century

                                                      

                                                                       Kiwi
                                                            Gold, achat, rubies

            Firm C. Fabergé, Workshop M. Perchin, St. Petersburg, Russia 1899-1903

                                      

                                     Imperial Constellation Easter Egg

                               Nephrite, rock crystal, dark blue glass, gold, damonds. - height 29 cm         

This egg was made for Empress Alexandra for Easter 1917. The egg has the form of a sphere with a turning dial made out of dark blue glass with clockwork inside. It is encrusted with diamonds and a lion is engraved on it. The heir to the throne, Tsarevitch Alexei, was a Leo in the zodiac. The pedestal is made out of a whole crystal rock placed on a nephrite base. The egg corresponds completely to the original sketch made by Carl Fabergé. According to the sketch, a dark blue sphere engraved with diamonds is encircled with a gold dial plate; the sphere lies on the "clouds" that have been cut from a whole crystal rock placed on the nephrite platform. The only detail which is missing from the egg is five angels who are ascending the "clouds" towards the sphere. Probably this detail wasn't finished due to the start of the Revolution. And because of the Revolution, «Constellation » was never gifted to the Imperial family.
K. Fabergé firm, H. Wigström's workshop  Petrograd. 1917.

                                             
                                               Original archiv drawing  C. Fabergé

                              The History of Fabergé

At the end of the 19^th and early 20^th centuries Russian jewelry art enjoyed a golden age. Economic growth led to the appearance of a new financial and commercial elite that became regular clients of jewelry firms and workshops. From the many names known at that time only one managed to become a symbol of the epoch and an embodiment of Russian jewelry art for the international market.
Carl Fabergé was a brilliant artist and a great businessman.
Not only was he the official Russian Imperial Court Jeweler, but he also supplied jewelry to the most prominent clients in the world, such as the kings of Sweden and Norway, the King of Great Britain, the King of Siam and many others. Fabergé won numerous awards, such as Russia's St. Stanislav and St. Anna prizes, the Bulgarian Commander prize, and the French Honourable legion prize.

Fabergé also received a number of gold medals at Russian and international exhibitions. Finally, he created the largest jewelry firm in Russia, which eventually defined the jewelry production at the turn of the 20^th century. At this time Saint Petersburg was considered one of the jewelry capitals of the world.
Since a young man Carl was an inquisitive boy closely observing his father's work. Gustav Fabergé told his son about his education with the top five jewelers of St. Petersburg, and his tutors included the Court jeweler Keibel, and the master Spiegel. Hoping to give the best education to Carl, Gustav Fabergé sent his son to the German school of Saint Anna in St. Petersburg. Later Carl was sent to study abroad at the Dresden Trading School, and the Commercial College in Paris. Meanwhile, he also learnt jewelry art from the Frankfurt goldsmith Joseph Friedman.

In 1865, having received a great fundamental education thorough professional training and experience, Carl Fabergé returned to Russia where under the direction of the skilled goldsmith, Hiskiasa Pendina, he continued to improve his skills in jewelry art. Carl Fabergé was a rare person possessing a true talent of the artist-designer, and also had a commercial streak necessary for starting a business. Along with highly-qualified employees, this helped guarantee his success.
Having acquired a fabulous European education, Carl Fabergé required the same quality of knowledge from his employees who were the leading artists-designers in the Russian Empire. Even to this day, the style, techniques and quality of their work serves as an example to many international jewelry masters. Fabergé demanded much from his employees, and they went through rigorous training, and were educated in Western art and technologies. Their education took years. Carl Fabergé set his prices by taking into account an item's artistic value and the level of craftsmanship; he didn't give too much importance to the amount of precious materials. Thorough and precise work was the main attributes of Fabergé's work.

Success first came to Fabergé after the creation of the Grecian art collection, which conveyed traditional beauty. In 1882 the Moscow branch presented a collection of copies of Kerchensky jewelry items that attracted a lot of public attention and earned much praise from highest circles of society. After the exhibition, Fabergé was awarded a gold medal. Empress Maria Fiodorovna was impressed and ordered from Fabergé cuff links with the image of cicadas that according to ancient Greeks brought luck to their owner. In 1885, after many years of flawless work and cooperation with the Hermitage, Fabergé was granted the title of Purveyor to the Imperial Court, and earned the right to use the State Emblem on the firm's letterhead. That same year the firm received a gold medal at the industrial art exhibition in Nuremberg, and another gold medal at the Copenhagen industrial art exhibition in 1888.
The constant increase in orders and the expansion of manufacture led to the need to create independent workshops. The owners of such workshops had to work using the Fabergé's sketches and drawings, and had to work exclusively for the firm. The jewelry workshops of A. Holmström and A. Thielemann were established, as well as W. Reimer's, E. Kollin's and M. Perchin's goldsmiths. There were also the silversmiths J. Rappoport's, V. Aarne's and family dynasty Wäkevas, and many others. Every workshop specialized in the production of certain items. In 1887, a Moscow factory was established which united under one roof all the different crafts that in Petersburg were divided between different workshops. Some production areas, such as jewelry, gold and enamel production were not as good in terms of quality and quantity compared to Saint Petersburg manufacturers. The production of silver items in Moscow was superior, however, and starting in 1900 all major silver items were made by the Moscow factory.

In August 1890 Carl Fabergé was appointed Appraiser of the Cabinet of His Imperial Majesty, and in 1910 he received a title of Court jeweler. In 1890, Fabergé participated in several exhibitions in Russia and abroad, and was granted numerous awards and medals that led to a significant number of orders from all over the world. In 1900 World Fair was held in Paris where Fabergé participated "hors concours", and Carl Gustavovich was selected as a judge. Consequently, this exhibition laid the foundation for intensive foreign trade.
Since most customers were based in London, Carl Fabergé established a shop there in 1903. London was not only a strategic place for trade with the British but it also became a centre of trade with clients from France, America and Asia. Representatives of the London shop traveled across the world collecting orders that were later passed on to the Saint Petersburg and Moscow workshops. Gold, enamel and large silver works were especially appealing to foreign customers.
The reason for Fabergé's success was the high quality of hand-made items created by exceptional professionals. This was in contrast to foreign manufacturers that replaced manual production with machines that noticeably affected the quality.
Twice a year Fabergé representatives from London traveled to India, China and Siam. The Siamese Royal Family and Court was the most significant international client. They were especially fond of nephrite carved items, and tiny portraits of the King and the Queen on enamel engraved with diamonds.
International trade continued to go well even during World War I. However the domestic trade was hit by the recession and a decrease in demand for luxury items, hence, the jewelry industry suffered. Even large workshops and firms were compelled to reduce manufacturing; many masters and apprentices were called up for military service. However, stagnation in trade was observed only in the first year of the war. Fabergé decided to manufacture products for military needs and sent requests for orders to military departments. The answer came a year later. Meanwhile, the firm started manufacturing items out of copper, producing mainly saucers, mugs and snuffboxes with the Imperial emblem and other gifts for soldiers and officers.
The Moscow silver factory was converted for the production of these military orders, and an additional workshop opened in Saint Petersburg where jewelers, silversmiths, and newly appointed employees were working. All products made in this period - shock and remote tubes, artillery shells, parts of devices, syringes and other items - were executed with great accuracy and thoroughness. The factory and workshops operated until the October Revolution of 1917, and a year later Fabergé closed its doors for good.

The history of gemstone carving

The terms intaglio and cameo are defined as carved gems with incised and raised engraving, respectively. The carving may be done either by simple manual tools or by rotary tools ( drilling and grinding ). The material for engraved gems is chiefly yielded by the minerals of the quartz group. Hematite was used for the ancient mid-eastern seal-cylinders. Engravings on emerald, beryl, garnet, peridot and topaz were rare. Through all ages glass offered a material for imitating, and substituting gems. For these glass-pastes a mold of an intaglio or a cameo was pressed in clay to cast the glass, which, after cooling, was brought into its final shape by refining with tools. The oldest engravings on gems originated from about 5000 to 3000 B.C. The Hittites, Egytians , Assyrians, Persians and the ancient Greeks are worth mentioning for their art of carving gems. Remarkable works were accomplished by Greek artists for members of the Roman noble class during the time of early emperors. Famous examples are the Gemma Augustea ( Vienna ) and a sardonyx representing the triumph of Germanicus ( Paris ). Since the time of Constantine the Great engravings on gems representing religious subjects were made in Byzantium. Our knowledge of ancient glyptograhpy is based on the collections of the important museums and on the abundance of gems in pieces of medieval jewelry. Although these gems are mostly pre-christian cameos re-used in christian objects. Towards the middle of the 19th century a rapid decline of glytography began and the interest in carved gems was lost. Nowadays the noble art of glytography is mastered only by a small number of artists. A revival of glytography would certainly ad an element of special delicacy to the pictorial arts of today. Resume of a text by Mister Heinz Goebbler, published in the " Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Edelsteinkunde. Idar-Oberstein 1957 " An interesting revival of this handcraft is on the way. Worldwide a growing number of very competent artists create astonishing engravings and gemstone sculptures. Hubert Heldner   August 2001 Today, Idar-Oberstein is primarily known for the cutting of larger, more valuable gemstones, fantasy cuts (Fantasieschliffe), and the wholesale trade in polished gemstones (geschliffenen Edelsteinen). Every year around late September or early October, Idar-Oberstein is host to the Intergem trade show - short for the "International Trade Fair for Precious Stones and Jewellery." There are several gemological research institutes [7] in Idar-Oberstein that include the 'German Foundation for Gemstone Research' (Deutsche Stiftung Edelsteinforschung - DSEF), Diamond Grading Laboratory (Diamant-PrŸflabor GmbH - DPL), German Association for Gemstone and Jewellery Evaluation (Deutsche Gesellschaft fŸr Edelsteinbewertung mbH - DEGEB), Research Institute for Gemstones and Precious Metals (Forschungsinstitut fŸr mineralische und metallische Werkstoffe, Edelsteine/Edelmetalle GmbH - FEE), and the German Gemmological Association (Deutsche Gemmologische Gesellschaft e.V. (DGemG).

Idar-Oberstein the city of gemstone carvers.

COSMOCHAOS Classical gem engraving studies

Cosmochaos Gem engraving team has done extended studies upon  classical engravings ,coming from ancient Greece, Roman period and Byzantine.You can see a small part of this work.

Glyptography at Royal British sculpture Society

                                        CECIL THOMAS AND HIS CONNECTION WITH GREECE

     Cecil Thomas (1885-1976) was one of England's most noted sculptors. He was also a medallist and  a seal and gem engraver, that carved and engraved gem materials in intaglio and cameo,plus miniature sculptures .His student and heir, Nick Kielty-Lambrinides(1920-2004)  was half Greek , he became a master Gem engraver in his own right and founded a School of Glyptic Arts in Athens , aiming to the revival of the art of Glyptography.                                                           

  The  20th -21st  century history of  European Glyptography presented at Royal Society of British Sculptors in May 2008 , passing from Cecil Thomas  to Nick Kielty -Lambrinides , and from him to his own students ,, that formed into a group in 1994 called Cosmochaos ,based in Greece but exhibiting throughout Europe, carry on Thomas' and Lambrinides' tradition of excellence and inventiveness. Cosmochaos (now teachers in their own right) , set the rules of Modern Glyptography.
 A series of lectures by Dr. Emmanuel Minne, Dr Harris Livas and Cosmochaos ,held at RBSS.
  Also an exhibition of historic pieces made by Cecil Thomas and Nick Kielty- Lambrinides ,besides  Contamporary Glyptographical pieces made by Cosmochaos studio ,gave a chance to the audience to see at close hand a number of examples of  important Gem Engraving works.
 A live workshop-demonstration of Glyptography art by Cosmochaos gem  artists also took place  and fascinated the audience that watched  closely a real rock crystal carving  by the use of diamond tools.

ΠΕΡΙ ΓΛΥΠΤΟΓΡΑΦΙΑΣ

Γλυπτογραφία . Η τεχνή της Γλυπτικής και της Χάραξης των πολύτιμων  υλικών

 Ειναι γεγονός οτι πολλές φορές οι μόνες μαρτυρίες που φθανουν στα χέρια μας

από αρχαίους, χαμένους στα βάθη του χρόνου, πολιτισμούς εiναι χαραγμένοι κρύσταλλοι που λόγω της σκληρότητάς τους άντεξαν την φθορά του χρόνου και με τις παραστάσεις που φέρουν επάνω τους δίνουν πολύτιμες πληροφορίες στους μελετητές τους για το επίπεδο πολιτισμού, τις συνήθειες και τις αξίες  των ανθρώπων που έζησαν οταν τα έργα αυτά δημιουργήθηκαν. Αυτο συμβαίνει λόγω της  σκληρότητας των ορυκτών κρυστάλλων που αποτελούν τον κύριο καμβά για τα έργα της Γλυπτογραφίας (σκληρότητα από 6,5  εως 10 στην κλίμακα του Moh οταν το ατσάλι εχει σκληρότητα 6 και το διαμάντι 10).   Μέσα απο μια ποιητική ματια, προσδίδεται στα Γλυπτογραφικά έργα η  ιδιότητα της Αφθαρσίας και της Αιωνιότητας.

Η τέχνη της Γλυπτογραφίας άνθισε από τον 6^ο αιώνα π.Χ. ως και τους ελληνιστικούς χρόνους και έφθασε στο απογειο της ακμής της κατα την περίοδο αυτή στον ελλαδικό χώρο απο οπου και έχουν διασωθεί οι πιό περίτεχνες γλυπτογραφίες.

   Ονομαστοί γλυπτογράφοι ,όπως ο Μνήσαρχος απο την Σάμο (πατέρας του Πυθαγόρα) και ο Δεξαμενός απο την Χίο,  δημιουργούσαν μεταξύ άλλων και σφραγιδόλιθους που οι έλληνες της εποχής έφεραν πάντα μαζί τους και τους χρησιμοποιούσαν για να αφήνουν το αποτύπωμα τους σε προσωπικά τους είδη οπως επίσης και στις πάσης φύσεως συναλλαγές τους. Στην αρχή φορούσαν τους χαραγμένους κρυστάλλους περασμενους σε σχοινάκια η δερματάκια στους καρπούς τους και αργότερα τους έδεναν με πολυτιμα μέταλλα και τους φόραγαν σε δακτυλίδια  Χαρακτηριστικό της ευρείας χρήσης τους ήταν ο νόμος του  Σόλωνος που απαγόρευε στους γλυπτογράφους να κρατουν αντίγραφο από τους σφραγιδόλιθους που δημιουργούσαν για τους πελάτες τους

 Αγαπημενοι κρύσταλλοι των αρχαίων ελλήνων ήταν η Ορεία Κρύσταλλος  (μία ποικιλία Χαλαζία που σαν κύριο χαρακτηριστικό της έχει την απόλυτη διαφάνεια), ο Χαλκηδόνιος (κρυπτοκρυσταλλικός Χαλαζίας που αφθονούσε στην περιοχή της αρχαίας Χαλκηδόνας),ο Καρνεόλης , ο Ιασπις κ.α.

  Στους Αλεξανδρινούς οπως και μετέπειτα στους Ρωμαικούς χρόνους η ακαταμάχητη έλξη που ένιωθαν οι άνθρωποι  για τα έργα της Γλυπτογραφίας συνεχίστηκε.

Στον Μεσαίωνα ομως η κατοχή των χαραγμένων κρυστάλλων μετατράπηκε σε προνόμιο των λίγων και αυτό είχε σαν αποτέλεσμα να μειωθεί ο αριθμός των εργαστηρίων και η τέχνη να παρακμάζει.

 Αργότερα στην περίοδο της Αναγέννησης, η Γλυπτογραφία βρήκε πάλι την παλιά της αίγλη, για ένα μικρό  χρονικό διάστημα. Η τέχνη αυτή  αγαπήθηκε ιδιαίτερα απο τον Λεονάρντο Ντα Βίντσι και  τον Μιχαήλ Αγγελο .Η οριστική παρακμή της ηλθε όμως  με την επινόηση των γραμματοσήμων, οπότε έπαψε οριστικά η χρήση των σφραγιδόλιθων στην σφράγιση των επιστολών.

  Ο φημισμένος Ρώσσος κοσμηματοποιός  Peter Karl Faberge (1846-1929) αγάπησε ιδιαίτερα την τέχνη αυτή και την αναβίωσε  δημιουργώντας σειρές ολόκληρες έργων γλυπτογραφίας,  όπως το ΖΟΟ , για τις τσαρικές  και άλλες Ευρωπαικές  βασιλικές αυλές.

Cecil Thomas(1889-1975)

 Κύριος συνεργάτης τού Faberge ήταν  ο Αlfred  Lyndhurst Pocock (1881-1962)  Αγγλος γλύπτης ,γλυπτογράφος ,γεωλόγος και ακουαρελίστας , o οποίος στις αρχές της δεύτερης δεκαετίας του εικοστού αιώνα σύστησε στον  Faberge τον   Cecil Tomas (1889-1975)  Βρεταννό γλύπτη και γλυπτογράφο ο οποίος φιλοτεχνούσε συγχρόνως  μεγάλων διαστάσεων γλυπτά  που κοσμούν σήμερα πολλούς δημόσιους χώρους.

Ο Cecil Thomas  σύνδεσε το όνομα του με τον οίκο Faberge και την ιστορική πλέον γλυπτογραφική δραστηριότητά του ενώ τού παραδόθηκε η σκυτάλη της γλυπτογραφίας από τους προκατόχους της Faberge και Pocock .

   Μαθητής  και συνεχιστής του Cecil Thomas υπήρξε  ο Ελληνας απο την πλευρά της μητέρας του και Ιρλανδός απο την  πλευρά του πατέρα του Nick Kielty- Lambrinides (1920-2004)γλυπτογράφος ,γεμμολόγος

    Ο κατα γενική ομολογία τελευταίος Ευρωπαίος Master Γλυπτογράφος Νιck Kielty-Lambrinides έργα του οποίου βρίσκονται μεταξύ άλλων στο  Victoria & Albert Museum του Λονδίνου, Μουσείο Γουλανδρή οπως και σε πολυάριθμες ιδιωτικές συλλογές ,αφού μαθήτευσε δίπλα στον Cecil Thomas ενστερνίστηκε πλήρως το Οραμα του δασκάλου του για την  Αναβίωση της Γλυπτογραφίας.

Αμέσως μετα τον θάνατο του Cecil Thomas το 1975, ο Nick Kielty-Lambrinides εγκαταστάθηκε στην Ελλάδα και ίδρυσε στην Αθήνα την  School of Glyptic Arts, πιστεύοντας  οτι η Ελλάδα ήταν ο καταλληλότερος τόπος για να αναγεννηθεί η ξεχασμένη τέχνη της Γλυπτογραφίας.

Δύο λόγοι τον οδήγησαν σε αυτή την ισχυρή πεποίθηση.

Ο ένας ήταν το ότι η Γλυπτογραφία σαν τέχνη έφτασε στα απώτατα ύψη της στη Ελλάδα κατα την κλασσική αρχαιότητα ,  οπως μπορεί εύκολα κάποιος να διαπιστώσει απο την αξεπέραστη αισθητική και τεχνική τελειότητα αρχαίων εργων Γλυπτογραφίας που σώζονται σε μουσεία ανά τον κόσμο.

   Ο αλλος λόγος ήταν η πίστη που είχε ο μεγάλος δάσκαλος καλλιτέχνης ,οτι στην Ελλάδα υπάρχει ένα πολύ πλούσιο σε πάσης φύσεως ταλέντα και δυνατότητες ανθρώπινο δυναμικο που συντηρεί μια παράδοση 6000 ετών στην Κοσμηματοποιία και το οποίο εάν επιμορφωθεί και εκπαιδευτεί σωστά μπορεί να μεγαλουργήσει και να προκαλέσει μια Αναγέννηση της Τέχνης της Γλυπτογραφίας.

 Σαν τόπο εγκατάστασης της σχολής του διάλεξε το Μεταξουργείο ,γιατι εκεί  ζούσαν και δημιουργούσαν οι  Αθηναίοι Γλυπτογράφοι κατα την αρχαιότητα.

Eκεί αρχισε να διδάσκει την Τέχνη γλυπτογραφίας αλλά και την επιστήμη  της Γεμμολογίας  (Gemmology) = η επιστήμη της αναγώρισης και εκτίμησης των πολυτίμων λίθων και υλικών – λέξη προερχόμενη απο την ελληνική λέξη  Γαία- Γέμμα-Γή -   καθώς αυτή η γνώση είναι απαραίτητη για τον Γλυπτογράφο δεδομένου οτι οι κρυσταλλικοί λίθοι αποτελούν τα υλικά του, τον καμβά του. Η σχολή του

Δίπλα του μαθήτευσε η Μαρία Αποστολοπούλου , ιδρυτικό μέλος και βασική σχεδιάστρια της ομάδας Cosmochaos , η οποία  αφού διδάχθηκε τα μυστικά της τέχνης της γλυπτογραφίας από το μεγάλο δάσκαλο Nick Kielty-Lambrinides,  γλυπτογραφεί ακολουθώντας τους δικούς της δρόμους. Μέσα από την πολυετή  προσωπική  της πορεία έχει καταφέρει  να θέσει τις βάσεις για τη σύγχρονη  μορφή της Γλυπτογραφίας . Εντάσσοντας τους σκαλισμένους λίθους της σε κοσμήματα  δικού της σχεδιασμού  φέρνει την αρχαία αυτή τέχνη στο προσκήνιο και  σε επαφή με το πλατύ κοινό .   Η Μαρία Αποστολοπούλου οραματιζόμενη την εξέλιξη αυτής της τέχνης δημιούργησε τον μοναδικό στην Ευρώπη πυρήνα Ελλήνων  Γλυπτογράφων , μαθητών ,συνεχιστών της σχολής Faberge-Cecil Thomas - Nick kielty -Lambrinides. Ο πυρήνας αυτός λειτουργεί στην Αθήνα  υπό τη σκέπη του COSMOCHAOS  απο το 1994 εως και σήμερα.

Gem carving tecniques

Gem Carving: Materials and Techniques

Semi precious hard stones such as carnelian, chalcedony, amethyst, and agate have long been carved with decorative and figural designs. Intaglios As early as 5000 B.C., craftsmen in Mesopotamia used hand-powered tools to engrave images into stone blanks, creating intaglios (so called from the Italian intagliare, "to cut into"). Similar methods were employed by ancient artisans in Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Etruria. Intaglios were used to make relief impressions when pressed into wax, clay, or another sealing material. Cameos Around 250 B.C. a new carving technique developed: by cutting away the area surrounding a figure, artisans formed relief images known as cameos. The different hues of banded stones were exploited to enhance the appearance of depth with multicolored compositions.		. .

Cameos are created by carving into a top (often white)layer of stone to reveal the colored band underneath An intaglio (top) is cut below the surface of a gemstone, while a cameo (bottom) is carved in relief Carving Tools Although intaglios are concave and cameos are convex, both are produced in a similar fashion. A cutting tool dipped in a slurry of abrasive powder and oil is turned while a gemstone is manipulated against it. Cutters of different shapes and materials can be used—drills, wheels, cones, and balls made of copper, bronze, iron, or something softer such as wood or even reed. It is the powder (emery or corundum in antiquity, diamond dust today) carried by the tool, not the tool itself, that actually carves the stone. This engraving depicts an 18th-century carver along with a variety of cutting tools. The instruments used by ancient carvers were similar, being turned by a bow rather than a foot pedal. Image top right: Hermaphroditus Seated on an Altar (detail), possibly by Protarchos, 150–100 B.C. Sardonyx cameo set in a modern gold ring. The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2001.28.9

SCARABS ,some of the oldest engraved gems

 

Egyptian scarabs

The image of the scarab beetle (Scarabeus sacer) is prominent in the royal funerary decoration of the New Kingdom (about 1550-1070 BC). After laying its eggs in a ball of dung, the scarab beetle rolls the ball before it wherever it goes. When the young beetles hatch they appear, apparently miraculously, from the dung. Thus to the ancient Egyptians the scarab beetle was a symbol of rebirth and represents the god Khepri, who was thought to push the sun disc through the morning sky, as a scarab beetle pushes its ball of dung.

The scarab beetle was also an important amulet. It first appeared during the Old Kingdom (about 2613-2160 BC), and was often used as a seal, mounted on a ring, with an inscription on the flat underside. This use was extended to a funerary context during the Middle Kingdom and later, in the form of the 'heart scarab': a stone amulet in the shape of a scarab placed over the heart of the mummy.

Length: 1.500 inches
Diameter: 1.000 inches

Faience scarab bearing the name Amenhotep III

Egyptian, 1390-1352 BC
Found at Ialysos (modern Triánda), Rhodes, Aegean Sea

This seal is made in the form of a sacred scarab beetle, which was a manifestation of Khepri, an Egyptian sun-god associated with resurrection. The flat underside of this scarab is decorated with the name of the Egyptian king Amenhotep III (1390-1353 BC).
This scarab was one of the earliest finds in the Aegean that provided a fixed point in time from Egypt (that is, Amenhotep's reign) which allows us to date the Mycenaean material with which it was found. Links like this, between the Aegean and Egypt, have allowed archaeologists to establish an absolute chronology for the Aegean Bronze Age.

FAMOUS GLYPTOGRAPHY COLLECTIONS

The carving of gemstones, in intaglio or cameo, is one of the oldest arts, practised continuously from antiquity to the present day. Since the stones were precious, and their working laborious, they attracted the attention of the best artists. Collections were being formed by Hellenistic Greek princes and rich Romans as early as the 1st century BC. The Beazley Archive, the University of Oxford’s Classical Art Research Centre, is well equipped for research in gems, their collection and reception. The Centre has a rich library and a collection of impressions and casts of gems and cameos, many unique, that is widely considered to be one of the most comprehensive in the world. The Centre is heir to a tradition of scholarship in the subject that began with Sir John Beazley himself (1885-1970), and is continued today by Sir John Boardman and his team.

 Thanks to a Larger Research Grant from the British Academy (2005-7) the Centre was able to retain a senior researcher whose work has subsequently won a Major Curatorial Grant from the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art (2007- 9). Among the many research activities carried out over the years of the grant is the provision on line of important data and pictures (www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/gems), especially the compendia of impressions made by 18th–century scholars such as James Tassie and P.D. Lippert.
Dr Claudia Wagner, the Centre’s Gem Researcher, has been studying the series of neo-classical gems carved for Prince Poniatowski , dispersed in the mid-19th century (www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/gems/poniatowski). These remarkable original studies in a classicising style are based more on knowledge of classical texts than on copying ancient originals. They are, therefore, an important source for assessing other Neo-classical works of the 19th century, particularly, but not exclusively in Britain.The resources of the Centre have also contributed to the study of the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle; Sir John Boardman, Emeritus Professor at the Archive, was a joint author of Ancient and Modern Gems and Jewels in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen in 2008.

 THE MARLBOROUGH COLLECTION
   The Marlborough Collection of gems made by the Fourth Duke at Blenheim Palace in the later 18th century was dispersed at sale in 1899, but the Centre has a complete set of impressions and casts, acquired by Sir John Beazley from the family of Nevile Story-Maskelyne, who made them from the originals. This has enabled our research team to assemble a fully illustrated account of the whole collection, its origins and later history, which will be published by the Oxford University Press. Interest in gems and cameos extends from the objects to their collectors; they tell us about knowledge and taste. The collection and reception of engraved gems and cameos is a story that runs from antiquity to the present. It reflects on the reception of classical art in Britain, revealing the models for much of the most famous classicising arts from the Renaissance to the present day. Part of the Marlborough Collection was one owned by Lord Arundel in the 17th century, derived from the Gonzaga Dukes of Mantua, as important a source as the Medici at Florence. Arundel’s was one of the major collections in northern Europe. Other parts of the Marlborough Collection included works collected by foremost Italian and British scholars and collectors.
   By following the fortunes of the gems to the present we can see how the interests and influence of collectors have influenced our scholarship and appreciation. This illustration (Fig. 2) shows a detail of Reynolds’ portrait of the family of the Fourth Duke of Marlborough. The Duke sits holding in his hand a cameo, while his son stands beside him holding one of the red boxes in which the gems were kept. The cameo itself had been acquired after the 1899 sale by Lord Astor, later by the Römisch-Germanisches Museum in Cologne, where it is now. We recognise it from a cast in the Archive and 19th- century photographs. It is an original Roman work showing a portrait of the Emperor Augustus, and its mount is Italian, of the later 16th century.
   Our continuing study is devoted to other collections in Britain and elsewhere. We are also preparing for the web antiquarian publications of gems from the 16th century on, such as that by 17th –century antiquarian Gorlaeus.
    The art of engraving gems and cameos has been long neglected, in both Classics and History of Art, yet it was one of the prime arts of antiquity, with a tradition that continues through the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, and down to the 19th century. Our research makes it more accessible to students and scholars because we exploit the potential of the web; gems are small and ‘zooming’ reveals the quality of the carving. These objects are a prime resource for the understanding of ancient art, the Renaissance, and of collecting.
                                                                                                                       Professor Donna Kurtz

  Professor Donna Kurtz is Beazley Archivist, Professor of Classical Art in the University of Oxford, and a Fellow of Wolfson College. She has published numerous books and articles on classical Greek archaeology and art, information technology, communications, and visual arts. Here she describes the research carried out on gem carving at the Beazley Archive, which has received long-term support from the British Academy

               Prince Poniatowski collection

Royal Fake—A Collection of "Ancient" Gemstones for Prince Poniatowski
In 1816, Crown Prince Stanislaw Poniatowski of Poland commissioned a group of gem cutters to engrave 2,611 precious stones with scenes from ancient literature, and in 1830, he proudly published them as genuine examples of "ancient" art. The high quality of these neoclassic miniatures corresponded to the taste of the educated high society of the time, and even museums and collectors acquired them as authentic ancient artifacts. Gertrud Platz-Horster, former vice-director of the Collection of Antiquities, Berlin, surveys this collection of royal fake gems and explores how engraver Giovanni Calandrelli mastered the art of imitating ancient gem cutting.



Zeus and Kapaneus before the walls of Thebes (1816-17)



1400s  PIETRO BARBO collection    (Italian, 1417–1471) The collector Pietro Barbò, who became Pope Paul II in 1464, possessed one of the largest and most completely recorded assemblages of art in 15th-century Italy. The inventory of his collection, written in Latin and divided into 32 sections, catalogues over 3,300 objects, ranging from Byzantine textiles to liturgical silver. Each item was accompanied by a description of its monetary value, iconography, and aesthetic and historical significance. Barbò's 827 ancient gems were organized under four categories: cameos, intaglios with heads of men, intaglios with heads of women, and intaglios with full-length figures. His gems, which he often mounted on rings, fascinated his contemporaries—who asserted after his death that he kept spirits in his rings and had been strangled by one of them. Although he possessed a massive number of gems, Barbò was most interested in numismatics; it was claimed that upon seeing a coin, he could instantaneously identify the emperor or empress represented. 1500s and 1600s Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640) A prolific artist famous for his Baroque altarpieces, portraits, and paintings of mythological scenes, Peter Paul Rubens was also a humanist scholar and a collector of antiquities. Born in Westphalia (a region of West Germany), Rubens moved to Antwerp, Belgium, after his father's death in 1589 and became a master in the Antwerp painter's guild in 1598. Two years later he departed for Italy, where he spent eight formative years working in Mantua and Rome and studying Renaissance frescoes and classical antiquities. While abroad, Rubens began to collect ancient gems and marbles, and when he returned to Antwerp, he continued to expand his holdings through agents and friends. The commercial side of collecting appealed to the painter, and he sometimes resold parts of his collection or exchanged objects for others. One noted sale took place in 1626, when Rubens sold 196 of his gems to the first Duke of Buckingham. He was careful to withhold some of his favorites, such as the famed gem of the Marriage of Cupid and Psyche by Tryphon, which he bequeathed to his son Alfred. In general, Rubens was extremely secretive about his gems and was unwilling to show them to visitors, fearing that they would be counterfeited. Read more about the life of Peter Paul Rubens. Thomas Howard (British, 1585–1646), Second Earl of Arundel A consummate collector, Thomas Howard acquired a wide variety of objects, ranging from paintings by Italian Renaissance masters to animal pelts and butterflies. Traveling extensively, Arundel came into contact with artists and scholars who helped him build his collections. During a 1613 visit to Rome, a leading art patron arranged for him to visit the Forum, where he "discovered" ancient statues planted there beforehand. These sculptures formed the basis of the antiquities collection at Arundel House. The earl was also keen to obtain ancient gems. In 1637 he purchased 263 cameos that had reportedly belonged to the dukes of Mantua for ten thousand pounds. The group included the famous Felix Gem displayed in this exhibition. Learn more about the Felix Gem on the Web site of the Ashmolean Museum. At the time of his death, the quantity of Arundel's acquisitions was astonishing. He owned, for example, 40 paintings by Holbein, 37 by Titian, 13 by Raphael, and over 600 drawings by Leonardo da Vinci. Although the earl's collection appears exceedingly complete, he failed to obtain one coveted object: an ancient Roman obelisk. Arundel's agent, William Petty, could not get an export license for it, and the granite monolith was eventually used by the sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini as the center of his Four Rivers Fountain in Rome. William Cavendish (British, 1672–1729), Second Duke of Devonshire William George Spencer Cavendish (British, 1790–1858), Sixth Duke of Devonshire The Devonshire collection, which numbers over 500 gems and is still at the family estate at Chatsworth, was begun by William Cavendish, the second Duke of Devonshire, in the late 1600s. He commissioned drawings of his ancient gems to make them more generally available—a rare objective for collectors of his era. One of the duke's most treasured acquisitions was a fragment of a carnelian intaglio depicting a cow and signed by Apollonides, a Greek carver mentioned in the writings of Pliny the Elder, for which he paid the hefty sum of one thousand pounds. The second Duke's extravagance was surpassed by William George Spencer Cavendish, the sixth Duke of Devonshire, who spent so much on his collections and the construction of his gallery that he fell into debt and was forced to sell off some of his estates. Although the sixth Duke did not add many new pieces to the gem collection, preferring to acquire libraries, coins, and medals, he commissioned a suite of jewelry that framed 88 ancient gems with garnets, sapphires, emeralds, amethysts, and many of the family diamonds. Known as the Devonshire Parure, the jewels were fashioned for the Countess Granville, wife of the duke's nephew, to wear to the coronation of Czar Alexander II. 1700s and 1800s Baron Philipp von Stosch (German, 1691–1757) A prominent antiquarian and art dealer, Baron Philipp von Stosch authored a seminal publication on ancient gemstones. Born in Brandenburg, he settled in Rome in 1717, where he collected gems, books, manuscripts, and drawings. His holdings included over ten thousand ancient intaglios, cameos, and glass pastes. Von Stosch financed his collection through rather unorthodox means, working as a spy for the British government of Robert Walpole on the Jacobite Court in Rome. In 1724 he published Pierres antiques gravées, sur lesquelles les graveurs ont mis leurs noms... (Ancient Engraved Gems, on which Carvers Have Inscribed Their Names...) a catalogue of gems he considered genuine, inscribed with proper names he claimed as artists' signatures. From that moment on, there was a great demand from aristocratic collectors for signed gems. When von Stosch's cover as a spy was blown in 1731, he fled the Papal States and took up residence in Florence, living on a pension from the British. He devoted the rest of his life to connoisseurship and to supporting young German artists, such as the gem engraver Johann Lorenz Natter. George Spencer (British, 1739–1817), Fourth Duke of Marlborough A learned aristocrat whose interests ranged from civil law to astronomy, George Spencer was also a distinguished art collector. After the second Earl of Arundel died in 1646, his gem collection was sold and eventually ended up, through inheritance, in the hands of Lady Diana Beauclerk, Marlborough's sister-in-law. She then transferred Arundel's gems to Marlborough, who incorporated them into his existing holdings of 300 specimens. The duke purchased his gems at auctions and through contacts in Rome and Venice, who reserved their best items for him. His methods of acquisition aroused resentment among other collectors, particularly the French, who accused him of bribing and bullying art dealers to obtain the highest-quality works. Marlborough was extremely proud of his gems, which he enhanced with lavish jeweled settings and stored in red Moroccan leather boxes. At the time of his death, he possessed nearly 800 pieces. When the family finances became troubled several decades later, the collection was sold, and in 1899 it was dispersed through separate auctions at Christie's. Edward Perry Warren (British, 1860–1928) The collector Edward Perry Warren was born in Massachusetts to a family that made its fortune from a paper mill. After graduating from Harvard, Warren vowed to spend the rest of his life abroad and pursued an advanced degree at Oxford. There he met men similarly interested in studying and collecting antiquities, including his life partner, John Marshall. In 1890 Warren began to lease Lewes House, a historic Georgian estate in Sussex, where he lived with Marshall and six other men in pursuit of scholarship and collecting. Visitors observed that Lewes House was rather odd, "a monkish establishment" where everything was shared and little interest was taken in the affairs of the outside world. Despite the closeness between members, the brotherhood broke up after 12 years. Marshall married Warren's cousin Mary Bliss in 1907—a great blow to Warren—but after her death in 1925, the two men reunited for the remaining years of their lives.