9/19/2023 0 Comments Intaglio seal![]() ![]() The Latin legend around the seal offers the advice: 'place your letter under a secret seal'. The high quality intaglio represents Antoninus Pius who reigned as Roman emperor from AD 138-161. Text from 'Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals', ed. also a glass paste in the Martin-Von-Wagner Museum, Wurzburg). Nearly identical scene on either side, two figures greeting a third, either at court or in. Traces of an additional element, perhaps a cloak, appear on the left shoulder.Ĭomparisons with coin portraits make it clear beyond doubt that the subject is Antoninus Pius the lank strands of hair combed forward from the back of the crown, the arrangement of the locks above the forehead, and the beard are all very closely based on his official portrait type (cf. In typical mid-century fashion, the portrait includes the shoulder and uppermost part of the chest. ![]() sard intaglio of Emperor Hadrian BM Cat.Gems no.1999). This type of representation is well established in first and second century imperial iconography (e.g. He wears a laurel wreath as sign of office from which two long fillets fall down onto his back. The Emperor is shown in profile from the right. Victorians loved the rebus as a message device because they were keen on 'hidden meanings' as being overt when conveying one's feelings was seen to be inappropriate and discretion was of the utmost importance.Curator's comments Antoninus Pius reigned AD 138-161. Lastly, some glass seals carry a rebus - a combination of pictures and words/letters that, when put together, form a message. Many Tassie seals have cheeky, whimsical mottoes that go with the image on the seal, and there are also Tassie seals that are laden with beautiful imagery and deeply sentimental mottoes. These glass seals were developed and perfected by James Tassie (1735–1799), a Scottish gem engraver who eventually began perfecting the modeling of small gem-like intaglio seals from paste glass. Last but by no means least, we have glass seals, which were produced often not as one-of-a-kinds (like a family crest might be), but rather for the masses and as such, a scribe might purchase a set of glass seals so that he could offer his customers the use of a seal to secure their correspondence, just like the well-heeled gentry of the time period. And on even rarer occasion a carved sapphire seal comes to light, but these are quite rare and were usually reserved for royalty and/or papal seals. On rare occasion one may come across an intaglio seal carved into mother of pearl, but they are uncommon because mother of pearl is rather fragile. At Seal & Scribe, we rather like the slight feathering on a gem stone seal because it serves as a reminder of the painstaking skills required to carve on to a gem stone, and is another aspect of the provenance of the stone. While one can get a crisp line on gem stone seals, there is often slight feathering on some lines, which no doubt appear because if one were to polish certain areas on a gem stone seal the actual hand-engraved lines would be diminished. Intaglio Seal (1 - 40 of 3,000+ results) Price () Shipping All Sellers Grand Tour Intaglio, Plaster Seals, medallion wall art, gold leaf intaglio, modern traditional home, classical decor, 19th century replica Artscapades3d (486) 10. ![]() The use of certain semi-precious and even precious gem stones is less common than hard stones - no doubt because of their cost - and the most common gem stones used for intaglio seals are of the quartz family: amethyst, citrine, rock crystal, etc. One could get a clear, crisp etching image and text, just as with using metal seals, however the hard stone seal had an added bonus of the coloring of a beautiful stone to enhance the seal itself. The letter is either scrolled up - as in ancient Egyptian and Roman times - and hot wax is melted on the edge of the scroll or paper, to secure it from prying eyes. Stones such as: carnelian, bloodstone, chalcedony, and agates were most common during the 1700s to 1800s. Ultimately, an intaglio seal is a stamp of sorts that is used to secure all types of hand-written communication. Hard stone seals tend to use certain stones that are hard enough to provide a good, smooth surface for detailed etching. Such seals were primarily used for seals that required a very high level of detail, such as family crests and coat of arms, royal ciphers, monograms, etc. Engraving into metal would give a seal a very crisp level of detail because etching into metal provides a certain quality of stability and hardness to etch into, and even the smallest of engraving tools can leave crisp, clean lines in the image and text on an all-metal seal. One can find all-metal seals in gold, silver, brass and copper, as well as 'pot' metal which is a mixture of non-precious metals. Metal seals come in a variety of metals that were available during Georgian and Victorian times. Each seal medium has it's own beauty and merits, so let's explore each one on it's own: Intaglio seals come in four basic mediums: all metal, hard stones, gem stones, and glass. ![]()
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