Featured Extremely Small Stone Carving

A friend posted this on Facebook. I notice it originally appeared one year ago today. I love this!

There are longer articles out there, but this one has the largest and best pictures, I think:
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2017/11/small-stone-carving-change-art-history/

Here are other articles, from University of Cincinnati Magazine
https://magazine.uc.edu/editors_picks/recent_features/unearthingamasterpiece.html

And from the New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/06/science/greece-griffin-warrior-archaeology-homer.html

 

Fascinating !

 

Wow, that's amazing, especially at such a small size.

I wonder if the sculptor was totally unique in his/her time and it's not truly representational of what other people in the same time period and culture were doing?

 

It is actually quite large compared to the majority of early intaglios, which were the right size & shape to be set in a ring. The overall shape fascinates me nearly as much as the engraving. Not a standard geometric shape, not easy to get so close to symmetrical. Have never seen any ancient gem with such an eccentric shape; surprised they do not comment on it.

 

WOW!!! Amazing AND Fascinating!!! Thanks for posting, Fig!!!

 

It is beautiful, and stunning artistry.
I am sure other perfect gems, whether gemstones or other skillfully made objects, will be found in the future. We, in our 'modern' arrogance, tend to underestimate the skills of those who came before us. Little treasures like this prove us wrong.

A warrior's intaglio, could it be based on a shield shape?

 

Oh, that's interesting. I didn't realize...

 

When Mercutio explains to his companions in Romeo & Juliet who Queen Mab is and describes her, 'agate stone' is the usual type of intaglio used in a ring seal and he means to tell us just how small she is:

O, then I see Queen Mab hath been with you.
She is the fairies' midwife, and she comes
In shape no bigger than an agate stone
On the forefinger of an alderman,

Read more at http://www.monologuearchive.com/s/shakespeare_067.html#6FdqOsSHc1x6zEbJ.99