Silver Pendant Featuring a Classical Revival Glass Intaglio Depicting a Biga, 1700 CE - 1800 CE
Glass and Silver
FJ.6137
The intaglio is set in a pendant of sterling silver. Intaglios created from colored glass date to the 18th.Century when the Duke of Orleans employed the chemist Homburg to make...
The intaglio is set in a pendant of sterling silver.
Intaglios created from colored glass date to the 18th.Century when the Duke of Orleans employed the chemist Homburg to make glass intaglio reproductions from ancient gemstones in his own and the royal collections. The work at Homburg acted as an incentive to other engravers including the Glasgow artisan James Tassie. After settling in London he created an extraordinary array of glass intaglios, the quality of which is truly unsurpassed. Tassie' s skill and artistry was so prized that he was commissioned to create collections of glass intaglios for a number of members of European royalty, including the famed Empress Catherine of Russia.
Classical mythology was a favorite theme, bath with ancient engravers and the artists of the 18th. Century revival. The aristocracy and connoisseurs who commissioned the pieces were generally well educated and well versed in ancient legends. The figure on this beautiful intaglio may be the young Phaethon. He was the son of Helios (the sun god), who borrowed his father's chariot and nearly set file to earth before being struck down by a thunderbolt from Zeus. Another famous charioteer was Aphrodite, goddess of love, who rode a chariot pulled by a team of doves. In Rome horse-and-chariot races drew vast crowds to the Circus Maximus and its provincial equivalents. This engraving is so wonderfully executed the horses seem alive with movement, rearing up with tremendous power as if they are flying through the air. The elegance of this lovely pendant will surely match the elegance of the wearer, uniting art and fashion with an inimitable charm.
Intaglios created from colored glass date to the 18th.Century when the Duke of Orleans employed the chemist Homburg to make glass intaglio reproductions from ancient gemstones in his own and the royal collections. The work at Homburg acted as an incentive to other engravers including the Glasgow artisan James Tassie. After settling in London he created an extraordinary array of glass intaglios, the quality of which is truly unsurpassed. Tassie' s skill and artistry was so prized that he was commissioned to create collections of glass intaglios for a number of members of European royalty, including the famed Empress Catherine of Russia.
Classical mythology was a favorite theme, bath with ancient engravers and the artists of the 18th. Century revival. The aristocracy and connoisseurs who commissioned the pieces were generally well educated and well versed in ancient legends. The figure on this beautiful intaglio may be the young Phaethon. He was the son of Helios (the sun god), who borrowed his father's chariot and nearly set file to earth before being struck down by a thunderbolt from Zeus. Another famous charioteer was Aphrodite, goddess of love, who rode a chariot pulled by a team of doves. In Rome horse-and-chariot races drew vast crowds to the Circus Maximus and its provincial equivalents. This engraving is so wonderfully executed the horses seem alive with movement, rearing up with tremendous power as if they are flying through the air. The elegance of this lovely pendant will surely match the elegance of the wearer, uniting art and fashion with an inimitable charm.