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Intaglio Jewelry :
Classical Revival Seal Rings : Intaglio of a Bust of the Goddess Artemis
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Intaglio of a Bust of the Goddess Artemis - FJ.6490
Origin: Europe
Circa: 1700
AD
to 1800
AD
Collection: Intaglio Jewelry
Medium: Carnelian, Gold
£3,100.00
Location: UAE
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| Description |
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
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.
As soon as she was born, Artemis helped her
mother give birth to her twin brother Apollo.
Most frequently identified as goddess of the
hunt, Artemis was also concerned with periods
of transition-- the rites of passage of virgins
into women, or young boys becoming men
through hunting or war. Though eternally
virginal herself, she presided over childbirth and
the rearing of children. Her own transformation
occurred at the famous temple of Ephesus where
she became an 'earth mother' with multiple
breasts. On this lovely intaglio she is the
quintessential huntress, with her famous quiver
visible behind her right shoulder. Strong and
daring, yet compassionate and nurturing, Artemis
is the perfect symbol for the modern age.
- (FJ.6490)
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