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

Sinkankas: This catalog was prepared by its author to publicize his extensive collection of engraved gems, notable for its unusually large number of Abraxas gems. In most plates, four engraved gems are arranged around a central figure drawn from classical mythology, the gems enclosed within decorative wreaths of varied foliage. Beneath each engraving is a blank space intended for the gemstone name and collection number. Pierre-Jean Mariette, in his Traité des pierres gravées (vol. 1, pp. 308–309), criticized the quality of the engravings. Adolf Furtwängler, in Die antiken Gemmen, observed that the collection apparently contained many modern gems and that the few genuine ancient examples were generally unremarkable works of the Roman Imperial period. George Ryley Scott, in Bibliotheca of Sex Rites (p. 649), noted the presence of several phallic gems. See also the discussion by Gertrud Platz-Horster and Gisela Richter Zazoff in Gemmensammler (1983), pp. 45–46. The work is considered rare.