Gold Ring Featuring a Classical Revival Ruby Intaglio Depicting the Head of Zeus, 1700 CE - 1800 CE
Ruby and Gold
FJ.6406
This antique ruby intaglio has been set in a modern 18 karat gold ring The art of glyptics, or carving on colored precious stones, is probably one of the oldest...
This antique ruby intaglio has been set in a modern 18 karat gold ring
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 the 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 mineraIs used were too hard for a "metal edge. A special difficulty of engraving intaglios, aside from their miniature size, was that the master had to work with a mirror-image in mind.
Renewed interest in ancient Greece and Rome during the eighteenth century gave impetus to engravers to create works of art equal to, and sometimes excelling, the artists of the past. Intaglios with images of deities were popular, and one of the most admired mythological figures was the father of the gods, Zeus. On this fine ruby the venerable god wears a curled beard, long hair and perhaps a wreath. Zeus participated in the lives of human beings--responding to prayer (Aeschylus, Agamemnon 973), appearing in dreams, in auguraI signs, or making his presence known with thunder and lightening (Homer, Iliad 2.353; 3. 242). His amorous exploits were famous throughout the ancient world, often changing himself into an animal to conceal his affairs from his wife Hera. On this seal he is portrayed in his more serious persona, that of preserver of law, justice and cosmic order.
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 the 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 mineraIs used were too hard for a "metal edge. A special difficulty of engraving intaglios, aside from their miniature size, was that the master had to work with a mirror-image in mind.
Renewed interest in ancient Greece and Rome during the eighteenth century gave impetus to engravers to create works of art equal to, and sometimes excelling, the artists of the past. Intaglios with images of deities were popular, and one of the most admired mythological figures was the father of the gods, Zeus. On this fine ruby the venerable god wears a curled beard, long hair and perhaps a wreath. Zeus participated in the lives of human beings--responding to prayer (Aeschylus, Agamemnon 973), appearing in dreams, in auguraI signs, or making his presence known with thunder and lightening (Homer, Iliad 2.353; 3. 242). His amorous exploits were famous throughout the ancient world, often changing himself into an animal to conceal his affairs from his wife Hera. On this seal he is portrayed in his more serious persona, that of preserver of law, justice and cosmic order.