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 B.C. in Mesopotamia and the Aegean Islands. They exhibit 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. A special difficulty of engraving intaglios, aside from their miniature size, was that the master had to work with a mirror-image in mind.

The Classical Revival was a phenomenon that swept through Europe in the 18th and 19th Centuries. A new appreciation for antiquity and ancient art forms was fostered by discoveries in the nascent scientific field of archaeology. Perhaps the Classical Revival also reveals a latent longing towards the Arcadian lifestyles of yesterday abandoned as Europe became rapidly industrialized and increasingly urbanized. Engraved upon the polished surface of this precious gemstone is a depiction of a mythological scene representing Mars, the Roman god of war (equivalent to the Greek Aires). Mars, god of Spring, fertility, and growth in nature, was one of the most prominent and worshiped gods in the Roman pantheon. Because Mars was believed to be the father of Romulus and Remus, the legendary founder of Rome, the Romans viewed themselves as the “sons of Mars.” Mars is represented seated upon a rock, holding a lance and wearing his traditional attribute: the crested helmet. A woman approaches him carrying his sheathed sword. This woman might be the Vestal Ilia, the mother of Romulus and Remus, or perhaps Venus, with whom Mars had an affair. It’s intriguing to imagine that this intaglio depicts the meeting of two forces traditionally in opposition: war and love.