Glyptic

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Sassanid gemstone with battle scene from the Roman-Persian War : Shapur I against Valerian , 3rd century AD, Cabinet des Médailles
Chalcedony bowl with rock crystal, Italian, approx. 1590–1600, mount from the 17th century.
Small rock crystal jug with floral and animal motifs, approx. 1000-1050, Egypt ( Victoria and Albert Museum , London)

The glyptic (from Greek γλύφειν glýfeïn ), German  stone cutting art , is the plastic processing of gemstones and precious stones , rock crystal and similar types of stone with the help of cutting and grinding devices. The word glyptic is derived from the ancient Greek "glyphine". This means something like “hollow out”, “carve out” or “dig into the stone”. With the help of the art of stone cutting, completely different objects can be made or decorated, such as jewelry , bowls, ornamental or drinking vessels, as well as gems or cameos . The technique of marble inlay (for example on floors in Italian churches) and the pietra dura is also based on stone carving. The art of stone cutting was often combined with goldsmithing in practice .

Ancient glyptics are divided into epochs and stylistic features as follows:

  • Minoan and Mycenaean seals approx. 3000–1000 BC Chr.
  • Greek geometric glyptic
  • Cypriot glyptic
  • "Island stones", Greek gems of the 7th / 6th centuries. Century BC Chr.
  • Phoenician and Phoenician-Greek scarabs of the 6th century BC Chr.
  • Greek-Archaic glyptics of the 6th and early 5th centuries BC Chr.
  • Greek classical glyptic of the 5th / 4th centuries Century BC Chr.
  • Graeco-Persian gems
  • Hellenistic gems
  • Etruscan scarabs
  • Italian and Roman Republican gems
  • Gem of the Roman Empire
  • Gnostic gems
  • Sassanid seals
  • Christian gems of late antiquity and the Middle Ages and modern gems
Bacchus and Ariadne (center) and other cameos of the Roman Empire, in acostumeby Luigi Valadier , 1780–85 ( Louvre , Paris)

In art history one speaks of "gems" = engraved stones as a generic term, regardless of whether they are raised or deepened. In the gemstone trade, however, it is divided into the terms gem (deepened) and cameo (raised cut). One speaks of engraved or cut stones.

In Near Eastern archeology , the term glyptic refers to both stamp seals (documented from the early Halaf period around 6000 BC) and cylinder seals (documented from the Uruk period , around 3400 BC). The cylinder seals represent one of the most extensive image sources of the cultures of the ancient Orient. The glyptic of the Indus culture was also an early form .

It is mainly practiced as a technique of small-scale sculpture, especially in the manufacture of gems, seals and the like. In addition to the ancient glyptic, there is an older (3500–1500 BC) technique, which was particularly widespread in Scotland, with which Carved Stone Balls were made. There was a western technical refinement in the 6th century BC. In Greek glyptic, after the Cretan - Mycenaean culture had already led stone processing to considerable heights. In the Roman Empire , the technique was mainly used in the field of portrait art, as well as in the Renaissance , in which the art of stone carving took a new artistic boom. It experienced another climax in classicism .

In the 16th to 18th centuries, in centers such as Milan, Florence, Prague and Naples, artists such as the Saracchi and the Miseroni family created masterpieces of stone cutting, which were in demand with princely collectors across Europe and which still adorn the most important collections today (including treasury of the KHM Vienna , Galerie d'Apollon in the Louvre ). In the Renaissance and Baroque periods , the Pietra dura technique, i.e. inlay made from semi-precious stones , was also popular.

A collection of original works or prints from the field of glyptics is called a dactyl library . A Glyptothek is a collection of sculptures and cut stones, whereby the focus of the collection can be on the sculptures.

Web links

Commons : Glypten  - collection of images, videos and audio files