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 difficulty of engraving intaglios, aside from their miniature size, was that the master had to work with a mirror image in mind. Maenads ('the possessed') were the female followers of the wine god Dionysus. They were seen as an expression of the orgiastic forces of nature, roaming about the countryside naked or dressed in thin veils; as we see on this delightful intaglio. Here the beautiful Maenad is carrying a thyrus, or lance wrapped with vines or ivy, used as a symbol of Dionysus and carried by the Maenads during sacrificial feasts. The impression that she is walking is skillfully rendered by the position of her feet, and by the curved tassels of her veils. With joyful abandon the lovely young woman strides across a mythical land, set against a brilliant background full of light and sensuality.