gems, glyptic, engraved gems, agate, cameo, intaglio, ancient gems, Rome, Greece, ancient jewelry, rings, lapidary arts

The text is preceded by a condensed survey of previous investigations into the subject of engraved gems, noting early developments during the Renaissance and that treatises were already being published in the 16th century, e.g., Fulvio Orsini, Imagines et Elogia Virorum Illustrium, 1570. Collectors and connoisseurs of engraved gems are carefully traced from this earliest period, as well as the published works, into the modern era, with use of selected illustrations taken from the same. A considerable number of treatises on engraved gems were published after WWII, especially from the mid-1950s, and Zazoff pays close attention to them. The text is highly detailed, printed in small type, which actually means that this is an enormous work despite its modest physical size. The historical text begins with Minoan seals, then passes to Mycenaean engraved stones, Cypriot gems, “geometric” stones of the Greek islands, and so on, to the Christian pieces of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, ending with gems of the modern era and remarks on the present-day practice of gem cutting in Europe. The remarks in each of these chapters are by no means confined to stylistic discussions but also include much useful information on materials, schools of engraving, engravers, collections and collectors, etc. This work and the one that follows are both timely and valuable; they should stand as authoritative for decades.