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

Sinkankas: The first of three volumes ultimately published to illustrate and describe the outstanding objects in the collection. The first foreword outlines the nine categories to be treated, including engraved gems, goldsmiths’ and silversmiths’ works, statues, vessels, ancient inscriptions, the Egyptian collection, and coins and medals. The present volume is divided into three sections: antique cameos, antique intaglios, and engraved gems from the sixteenth century to modern times. The first two plates, separately numbered, provide an overview of the largest and most important specimens in the collection, although reproduced on a reduced scale; the remaining plates, numbered I–XXIII, depict the same gems at full size, including several exceptionally large cameos for which the collection is renowned, such as the Triumph of Augustus, the Roman Eagle Gem, and others. These appear on the first two plates, while the smaller gems are arranged in groups on the succeeding plates. Plates XXI–XXIII illustrate small busts, jewelry, and vessels. In his preface, Arneth laments the difficulty of finding artists sufficiently skilled to reproduce engraved gems faithfully, especially when compared with the magnificent engravings in Eckhel’s Choix des pierres gravées (1788), in which several of the same gems are illustrated. Nevertheless, as Vinet (no. 1658) observed, Arneth succeeded in obtaining faithful reproductions despite differences in artistic style. In the introduction, Arneth provides a concise but useful essay on Greek art, the history of gem engraving, materials used, functions of engraved gems, notable ancient engravers, major collections, and the largest known engraved gems together with the collections in which they are preserved. A highly regarded and now very scarce work. Goodland, p. 20.