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 special difficulty of engraving intaglios, aside from their miniature size, was that the master had to work with a mirror image in mind.
As soon as she was born, Artemis helped her mother give birth to her twin brother Apollo. Most frequently identified as goddess of the hunt, Artemis was also concerned with periods of transition-- the rites of passage of virgins into women, or young boys becoming men through hunting or war. Though eternally virginal herself, she presided over childbirth and the rearing of children. Her own transformation occurred at the famous temple of Ephesus where she became an 'earth mother' with multiple breasts. On this lovely intaglio she is the quintessential huntress, with her famous quiver visible behind her right shoulder. Strong and daring, yet compassionate and nurturing, Artemis is the perfect symbol for the modern age.