Engraved gem

Common card · No. 358921

An engraved gem, frequently referred to as an intaglio (pl. intaglios, intagli), is a small and usually semi-precious gemstone that has been carved, in the Western tradition normally with images or inscriptions only on one face. The engraving of gemstones was a major luxury art form in the ancient world, and an important one in some later periods. It is one type of product of lapidary, the practice of shaping stone including gemstones or minerals, into decorative items. Strictly speaking, engraving means sculpting in intaglio (with the design cut into the flat background of the stone), but relief carvings (with the design projecting out of the background as in nearly all cameos) are also covered by the term. This article uses cameo in its strict sense, to denote a carving exploiting layers of differently coloured stone. The activity is also called gem carving and the artists gem-cutters. References to antique gems and intaglios in a jewellery context will almost always mean carved gems...

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