The term intaglio refers to a small image that has been engraved into a gemstone and usually set in a piece of jewellery, most commonly a ring. Such artistic form has its origin in Sumer in the 4th millennium BC, with the appearance of cylinder and stamp seals, whereby decorations and patterns were engraved into soft stones. Intaglios with fine detailing were highly desired with one reason being that the intricacy making wax seals difficult to forge. The earliest intaglios were produced by hand using simple iron tools along with abrasive emery powders. Common scenes used during the Roman period were animals, mythological creatures and portraits. During the Hellenistic period and the early Roman Empire, the art of intaglio reached its apogee, with there being a steady decline in craftsmanship in the late Imperial Rome, until a revival of interest with the Byzantine and during the Renaissance.
Animals were a favoured decorative motif across Roman art, either in association with specific deities or myths, or as popular domestic animals. In Roman religion, where the Greeks had oracles, birds could reveal the will of the gods, and their flight, number, and behaviours were observed by augeres as omens, called auspicia. Decorative motifs featuring birds became extremely popular on artefacts, ceremonial or used on a day to day basis, and on jewellery. ancient roman intaglio of a figure holding a bird
To find out more about intaglios please visit our relevant blog post: Engraved Gemstones in Ancient Rome
