gems, glyptic, engraved gems, agate, cameo, intaglio, Russia, St. Petersburg, Britain

Dr. Julia Kagan, Curator of post-Classical engraved gems in the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, has devoted a lifetime of scholarship to the study of gem-engraving in Britain, in part inspired by the English Brown brothers who carved gems for Catherine the Great during the 18th century. The many articles she published in the 1960s and 1970s covering various aspects of the history of glyptics in Great Britain and the formation of the Hermitage's collection of British gems, an earlier dissertation which originally formed the basis of this book, and the attached catalogue, comprise a suitable tribute to the immense richness and diversity of gem engraving in Britain from Antiquity to the present. This comprehensive study includes a catalogue of the British engraved gems in The State Hermitage Museum, appendices of archive documents, and a table of British engravers. In this volume the author traces the history of gem engraving in Britain from antiquity to the present. By focusing on engravers, patrons and collections she introduces the reader to a rich corpus of material, assembled here for the first time in any detail. She places the gems and engravers in their historical and social contexts, while providing a sensitive art-historical interpretation. Gem engravers, their works, the relationships between workshops and individuals, are explored and charted meticulously, based on a lifetime of scholarship devoted to gem engraving.