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Intaglio Jewelry :
Classical Revival Seal Rings : Carnelian Intaglio Depicting the Goddess Fortuna
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Carnelian Intaglio Depicting the Goddess Fortuna - FJ.6495
Origin: Europe
Circa: 1700
AD
to 1800
AD
Collection: Seal Rings/ Intaglios
Medium: Carnelian-Gold
$4,300.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
The art of glyptics, or carving on colored
precious stones, is probably one of the oldest
known to humanity. Intaglios, gems with an
incised design, were made as early as the fourth
and third millennia BC in Mesopotamia and
Aegean Islands. They display a virtuosity of
execution that suggests an old and stable
tradition rooted in the earliest centuries. The
tools required for carving gems were simple: a
wheel with a belt-drive and a set of drills.
Abrasives were necessary since the minerals
used were too hard for a metal edge. A special
difficulty of engraving intaglios, aside from their
miniature size, was that the master had to work
with a mirror image in mind.
In order to help explain the mysteries and the
vagaries of life, the ancient Greeks and Romans
created a vast pantheon of gods and goddesses.
One of the most popular was Fortuna, the Roman
identification of Tyche. Unlike other deities she
possessed no myth, being regarded more as a
concept. Particularly popular in Imperial Rome,
she became an emblem of the providence and
chance to which the world is subjected. Here we
see her carrying a double cornucopia (horn of
plenty) in her left hand and a patera ( a dish used
for votive offerings) in her right. She is depicted
as a very lovely woman, wearing a flowing
chiton, coifed hair, with her left leg gracefully
extended. Though ancient myths are no longer
taken seriously, who would not want this
beautiful goddess of fortune to be one's close
companion?!
- (FJ.6495)
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