Engraved gems

Eine Gemme mit Dichter aus dem Südvicus von Sorviodurum

by Joern Lang

published in: Das Archäologische Jahr in Bayern 2008, 94 f.

Rezension zu John Boardman: The Marlborough gems formerly at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire. With Diana Scarisbrick, Claudia Wagner, Erika Zwierlein-Diehl. Oxford: Oxford UP 2009

by Joern Lang

published in: Gnomon 84, 2012, 64–68.

Neuzeitliche Gemmen nach antiken Vorbildern

by Joern Lang

published in: D. Boschung – E. Kleinschmidt (Hrsg.), Lesbarkeiten. Antikerezeption zwischen Barock und Aufklärung (Würzburg 2010) 207–238.

Winckelmann, Engraved Gems, and Francesco Arcangeli

by Ulf R. Hansson

originally written as a shorter article for a Swedish non-academic journal, it is currently being translated into English

I had this very strange idea to trace Winckelmann's last days and tragic death in Trieste and to sort of weave into... more I had this very strange idea to trace Winckelmann's last days and tragic death in Trieste and to sort of weave into this story his fascination with and very interesting and original work on the engraved gems (of the "ancients"). As I became rather pleased with the result of this experiment, I decided to turn the text into a longer essay

Dactyliothecae Cataloniae: La herencia de P.F.H. d’Hancarville en una cornalina de la colección Domingo Bassols.

by Raimon Graells i Fabregat

R. Graells (2012): "Dactyliothecae Cataloniae: La herencia de P.F.H. d’Hancarville en una cornalina de la colección Domingo Bassols", Symbolae Antiquariae, IV, 105-115.

Eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century dactyliothecae and gem casts in the collection of the University of Texas at Austin

by Ulf R. Hansson

draft only

The University of Texas at Austin houses a major collection of plaster and sulphur casts of classical and neoclassical... more The University of Texas at Austin houses a major collection of plaster and sulphur casts of classical and neoclassical engraved gems. The collection was formed by a European collector around 1900 and includes three 18th- and early 19th-century dactyliothecae (gem or cast cabinets) of German, Italian and British manufacture. This article traces the very interesting history of this collection and its first owner. A complete catalogue with online access is also in preparation.

J.J. Winckelmann and the engraved gems of the Etruscans

by Ulf R. Hansson

in preparation

A study of engraved diamonds

by Hadrien Rambach

Work in progress

An inventory of all known diamond intaglios (coats-of-arms as well as portraits, flowers and animals), from the... more An inventory of all known diamond intaglios (coats-of-arms as well as portraits, flowers and animals), from the 15th-century until 1900.

Apollo and Marsyas on engraved gems and medals

by Hadrien Rambach

in: Jahrbuch für Numismatik und Geldgeschichte, 61 (2011), pp. 131-157

The famous "Seal of Nero, a Roman intaglio depicting Apollo, Marsyas and Olympus, was once in the collection of... more The famous "Seal of Nero, a Roman intaglio depicting Apollo, Marsyas and Olympus, was once in the collection of Lorenzo il Magnifico and is now in the National Museum of Naples. Two gems related to that "Seal of Nero" are published here for the first time: one, a severely damaged intaglio kept in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, is supposed to date from the third quarter of the first century BC. Another gem with a similar motif, a refined Renaissance cameo, recentlya ppeared in Oxfordshire and is now in a private collection in London. It is presumed that this perfectly preserved piece originally was in the possession of the Medici. The author considers a possible attribution of this work to the young Michelangelo Buonarroti and discusses a copy shown in a portrait painting by Botticelli now in the Städel Museum in Frankfurt on the Main. (summary by Matthias Barth)

Old and new magical inscriptions

by Omar Coloru

ZPE 176 (2011), pp. 135-138

1) A defixio from Olbia (IV century BC) first edited by Tochtas'ev in 2000 on the basis of a drawing of the former... more 1) A defixio from Olbia (IV century BC) first edited by Tochtas'ev in 2000 on the basis of a drawing of the former owner. The analysis led on the photograph of the original document makes possible an improvement of the reading and shows the existence of several charakteres carved on the surface of the tablet.
2) First edition of a late antique amulet where the angel Rathanael  - recorded in the apocryphal Testamentum Salomonis - is mentioned for the first time on an inscribed object.

“Some Unconventional Early Byzantine Rings,” in Chris Entwistle and Nöel Adams, eds., “Intelligible Beauty”: Recent Research on Byzantine Jewellery (London, 2010), pp. 13-19

by Jeffrey Spier

Gnostic Imagery from the Beginning of our Era to Today

by Katherine Schaefers

Bernard Picart, Girolamo Odam, et alii. Stoch's 1724 Pierres antiques gravées

by Hadrien Rambach

Work in progress

Philipp von Stosch’s Gemmæ antiquæ cælatæ scalptorum nominibus insignitæ / Pierres antiques gravées, sur lesquelles... more Philipp von Stosch’s Gemmæ antiquæ cælatæ scalptorum nominibus insignitæ / Pierres antiques gravées, sur lesquelles les graveurs ont mis leurs noms … et traduites en François par M. de Limiers, published in Amsterdam in 1724 by Bernard Picart, is a folio volume containing (3), (2), xxi, 97, (1) pages, and 70 plates. Perhaps the most attractive illustrated book on gems published in the eighteenth century, it is certainly the most famous.

The "Horned Hunter" on a Lost Gnostic Gem

by Jeffrey Spier

(co-authored with Roy Kotansky), published in Harvard Theological Review, vol. 88:3 (1995), pp. 315-337

A Group of Ptolemaic Engraved Garnets

by Jeffrey Spier

published in The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery, vol. 47 (1989)

Most Fowl: Athena, Ares, and Hermes Depicted as Birds on Engraved Gems

by Jeffrey Spier

published in Pallas, Vol. 83 (2010), pp. 245-250

Fingerringe und Siegel im Kerameikos, AA 2000, 13-26.

by Jutta Stroszeck

Dupré inspiré par l'antique? Les sources de l'Hercule assis

by Hadrien Rambach

In "Bulletin Numismatique CGB-CGF", issue 89, June 2011, p. 28

Ancient glyptic is suggested as a possible source of inspiration for a proposed coin-design now kept in the Musée... more Ancient glyptic is suggested as a possible source of inspiration for a proposed coin-design now kept in the Musée d’Art et d’Industrie de Saint-Étienne by Augustin Dupré (1748-1833).

BREVE NOTA SU ALCUNI SCARABEI CONSERVATI AL MUSEO DI GROSSETO

by Enrico Giovanelli

Forthcoming

Short contribution presenting some unpublished etruscan scarabs in the Museum of Grosseto. Short contribution presenting some unpublished etruscan scarabs in the Museum of Grosseto.

Le prime testimonianze di glittica etrusca: scaraboidi e sigilli tra VIII e VII a.C.

by Enrico Giovanelli

Forthcoming, summer 2012

"L'Etruria dal Paleolitico al primo Ferro". Preistoria e protostoria in Etruria, Atti del decimo incontro di studi

Proceedings of the 10th meeting on Prehistory and Protohistory of Etruria.

La presente relazione costituisce una sintetica e preliminare rassegna delle testimonianze (scaraboidi e sigilli) in... more La presente relazione costituisce una sintetica e preliminare rassegna delle testimonianze (scaraboidi e sigilli) in ambra e serpentino nelle aree di occupazione etrusca tra VIII e VII sec. a.C. Particolare attenzione è rivolta ai manufatti che presentano raffigurazioni più complesse al di là di semplici motivi decorativi geometrici.
Riguardo all’ambra, le serie testimoniali più significative si riscontrano a Veio e Vetulonia, con quest’ultima che presenta anche manufatti di relativo impegno artistico quali un sigillo della tomba del Tridente. Di questo viene proposta una lettura che potrebbe inserirsi nella valutazione espressa dagli editori del complesso, relativamente al portato semantico di alcuni oggetti del corredo. Una proposta alternativa rispetto all’edito viene espressa anche riguardo ad alcuni scaraboidi della necropoli del Caolino del Sasso di Furbara.
Da ultimi infine sono brevemente considerate tre gemme in serpentino, ovvero lo scaraboide del complesso della Civita di Tarquinia e il sigillo e lo scaraboide rinvenuti negli strati di prima fase del palazzo di Murlo. L’esemplare tarquiniese è significativo dal momento che è pertinente a strati dell’Orientalizzante Antico e per il fatto che potrebbe trattarsi di un manufatto locale in considerazione dell’analisi petrografica. L’importanza degli esemplari di Murlo è rilevante dal momento che potrebbero essere stati oggetti personali dei signori titolari del palazzo.

This paper is a short and preliminary contribution on amber and serpentine seals and scaraboids in Etruria between the 8th and 7th century BC. In addition to the simple and geometrical decorative motifs, particular attention is given to the more complex scenes.
As far is amber is concerned, the largest part of these items comes from Veii and Vetulonia, where some of them seem to have also a relative good quality, like a seal from Tomba del Tridente. The interpretation of the scene can be inserted in the evaluation already given about some of the grave goods. In this paper another interpretation is suggested about the scenes on two scaraboids from the necropolis of Caolino del Sasso di Furbara.
Finally some considerations are made on three serpentine gems, i.e. the scaraboid from the complex of Pian di Civita in Tarquinia and the seal and the scaraboid from the “palace” of Poggio Civitate, Murlo. The item from Tarquinia is particularly interesting as it comes from layers of the ancient orientalising period and it could also be a local production on the base of the petrographic analysis, while the stones from Murlo could have been personal objects belonging to the palace’s owners.