Leopardess
Intaglio
ca. 150 BC (made)
ca. 150 BC (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
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 sophisticated and naturalistic engraving of a leopardess has been dated to around 150 BC.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Leopardess (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Engraved gemstone, dark green jasper in gold ring. |
| Brief description | Intaglio, oval jasper, variety 'bloodstone', set in a 19th century gold ring, depicting a leopardess, Italy, antique Graeco-Roman, ca. 150 BC |
| Physical description | Horizontal oval intaglio. Dark green jasper. Depicting a leopardess walking in profile to the right, beneath a tree. In a gold ring. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Given by Richard Cockle Lucas |
| Object history | Given by the British neo-classical sculptor Richard Cockle Lucas in 1865, together with twenty-two ivory carvings, twelve waxes, sixteen other gems, a marble group and a portrait in plaster. |
| Historical context | Engraved gemstones of all dates were widely collected in Italy in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Many were brought back by British Grand Tourists, and important collections were formed. |
| Production | Attribution note: Dark green and opaque jasper with red inclusions. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | 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 sophisticated and naturalistic engraving of a leopardess has been dated to around 150 BC. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 233-1865 |
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| Record created | November 17, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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