- Scarab and winged figure
- Enlarge image
Scarab and winged figure
- Object:
Intaglio
- Place of origin:
Italy (made)
- Date:
4th century BC (made)
1850-1900 (altered) - Artist/Maker:
Unknown
- Materials and Techniques:
Engraved gemstone
- Museum number:
8776-1863
- Gallery location:
In Storage
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. The scarab is an ancient symbol dating back to around 8,000 BC. For the ancient Egyptians, the scarab beetle pushing the ball of dung containing its eggs was a metaphor for the daily passage of the sun across the sky, and thus for the concept of rebirth. Carved scarabs exist from giants 15 metres long and 9 metres high, to tiny amulets used as charms or in burials, and seal stones or ornaments for personal use. Materials used vary according to perceived properties of the stone, or intended use. The popularity of scarabs as charms and ornaments persisted, and the intaglio carving of Icarus on the flat underside of this one places it in Italy around 400 BC. In Greek legend, Icarus and his father the craftsman Daedalus, in order to escape imprisonment on Crete, put on wings of Daedalus' making attached to their shoulders with wax. Icarus flew too near to the sun, the wax melted, and he was drowned in the sea.
