gems, antique gems, antique jewelry, engraved gems, glyptic

A detailed study by C. Drury E. Fortnum of selected antique, Renaissance and later engraved gems and jewels in Queen Victoria’s collection at Windsor Castle. Fortnum records that the cabinet contained 292 objects, ranging from Greco-Roman gems through Byzantine and Renaissance works to seventeenth- and eighteenth-century pieces, and describes the more important examples in approximate chronological order. Particular attention is given to cameos, intaglios, portrait gems and jeweled mounts, including portraits of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Louis XII and Philip II, Renaissance jewels in enamelled gold, and royal signets associated with Charles I, including a diamond engraved with the Prince of Wales’s feathers. Fortnum discusses materials, workmanship, iconography, attribution, dating and provenance, frequently comparing the Windsor pieces with gems in other European collections and correcting earlier identifications. The paper is an important nineteenth-century record of the Royal Collection’s glyptic holdings and a valuable source for the history of engraved gems, Renaissance jewelry and royal collecting. Sinkankas: Detailed descriptions of selected engraved gems with sizes, materials, sources, and comments; excellent collotype plates.