Intaglios

Greetings,

The first time I saw an intaglio was online a few months ago. It was set in a fob of some kind and since then I’ve looked for them whenever I browse online.

I have never seen one in real life and now look forward to the arrival of a “blind” purchase I made a few weeks ago.

I’m curious if anyone on these forums collects them. If you do, would you mind sharing your piece and anything you know about them?

The bit I’ve been reading online makes it seem like these had been used originally in buisness practices as a kind of seal.

I like how they look like the little introverted cousins of the cameos.

What are desirable features when looking for one? They don’t come up as much as other types of jewelry.

 

I have several intaglios, often on signet style rings, but mine are mostly from the Middle East and Central Asia. So probably not the kind of thing you have in mind.
My favourite is a Persian ring with a chunk of Islamic text engraved in an oval carnelian. I also love my Uzbek ring with a mythical dragonhorse intaglio.

 

I don't own any,but pick a category and have fun........... https://www.google.com/search?clien...VLGDQIHRLyCAcQ4lYIKCgA&biw=1521&bih=891&dpr=1

 

This is one i have at the moment, its Georgian carved carnelian but reverse set into a later mount I think. Its an almost twin to one in the British Museum dated to later 1700s. So much detail in something so small!

 

You can’t say you have a

without showing a photo!

 

Nah, just fibbing.
I'll take a dive in my boxes, you may not see me for days.

 

Ok, found them.
The dragon horse on the left, turquoise and coral side stones. On the right a foal ring, carnelian with turquoise side stones.


Although these rings are from Uzbekistan, the dragon horse story is originally Tajik. There is a sizeable Tajik minority in Uzbekistan.
I don't remember the full story, but it was something about the horses of a marauding army on their way to a religious sanctuary getting stuck in the lake in front of the sanctuary. There they were turned into dragon horses that from then on guarded the sanctuary against the marauders.
Dragon horse rings are Shamanic rings. Foal rings were usually commissioned by proud owners of beautiful foals.
Uzbek intaglios are turned sideways, so the owners can see the image at a glance while they are working, without having to turn their hands. That is also why the dragon horse is centred on the bottom half of the stone.

The Persian inscription ring, carnelian:

 

The dragon horse is sweet but I LOVE the foal ring! That’s me green with envy. Another thing to add to my wish list. Thankyou for showing, they are beautiful x

 

Thanks, KSW.

These Uzbek rings are pricey, but the Afghans make horse intaglio jewellery as well. Different, but very attractive, often in lapis lazuli.
Search for older ones. Most of the recent Afghan intaglios are made of some kind of composite stone and set in base metal.

 

AHHHH! I really believed we'd miss you for days, sunk in your boxes
Are you like me, when I go through my boxes/drawers for one thing, I end up taking lot of more time to examine all...

Your intaglios (intaglii?) are soo beautiful!
Thanks for showing them

How stunning is this love for the foal

 

Thanks kyra.

So did I! But thanks to my new storage system it didn't take as long as expected.
But not everything is in a proper place yet, I am still surrounded by plastic bags and unorganized boxes and 'stuff'.

I only have that with my Austro-Hungarian and Indonesian boxes, I gaze in amazement. With the others I have the "oh right, yes, I have that too, beautiful!" feeling.

 

Intaglios are older than cameos because they originated as seals. One of the oldest types is the cylinder seal. Cameos are strictly decorative, while intaglios can be both decorative & functional. I have far more cameos than intaglios, but have grown more interested in the latter & have shown many of mine in various threads here.

Roman banded glass:



I think this may be my favorite:



And this is most recent:

 

The standing woman is gorgeous. Who is it?

 

An allegorical figure of Hope/Consolation. There's a bit more about her here:

https://www.cameotimes.com/index.php/profiles-1/allegorical/anchor-of-hope

 

I'd forgotten these. @Bronwen A ring I bought a while ago, looks like an intaglio with a foiled background. Has some age I think.

 

And a really nice one, bought from a favourite seller on the bay about ten years ago. I think the intaglio was reset in a silver surround. Figure on horseback, says WHO IS AT HOME HERE? . London hallmarks.

 

Is the intaglio on the front surface or is it reverse carved/intaglio? Does appear to have some age, but not antique yet, I suspect.

Yes, almost certainly was originally set in a seal matrix, either desk or fob. Love the color. Do the marks tell you when the silver work was done? Intaglio itself could be late Georgian.

 

The ring is reverse carved, smooth cab top. I need to go resquint at the marks on the pendant, they are TINY. From memory, early 20th. I've never yet found the siginificance of the wording, but it does look to have real age. I'd base that on the horse's motion, let alone anything else.

 

My guess was that the horseman is a message rider & the motto just relates to the arrival of a message. The overall shape is consistent with late Georgian: top table larger than the reverse, with a beveled edge between.

 

That's a thougt. The messenger, I mean. Makes sense. Font looks Georgian, too.