The art of engraving gemstones can be traced back to ancient Greece in the 8th century BC and earlier. Techniques passed down to the Egyptians and then to the Romans. There were major revivals of interest in engraved gems in Europe during the Byantine era, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and again in the 18th and 19th centuries. At each stage cameos and intaglios, these skillful carvings on a minute scale, were much prized and collected, sometimes as symbols of power mounted in jewelled settings, sometimes as small objects for private devotion or enjoyment. This cameo conveys in miniature a scene from the Passion of Christ found in the engravings of such South German artists as Martin Schongauer (about 1430-91), and Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528); see V&A inventory numbers E.755-1940 and E.704-1940. On the eve of the Crucifixion Christ has gone to the garden of Gethsemane to pray, accompanied by three of his disciples. While the disciples sleep, Christ kneels in prayer, against a distant view of the towers of Jerusalem. The chalice of bitter wine offered to him by God, and representing the coming suffering of his death on the Cross, appears in front of him.