Significant Collection of White Cameos

Ref: 2677

Price : 8,200 €

Significant Collection of White Cameos

Ref: 2677

Price : 8,200 €

Significant Collection of White Cameos

18th Century
Italy
Exhibition: National Library in Paris, the Hermitage, the Uffizi, the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Naples and The Hague.
Literature: Gertrud Seidmann, "The Grand Tourist's Favorite Souvenirs: Cameos and Intaglios," RSA Journal, vol. 144, no. 5475 (December 1996), p. 65
Valentin Kockel, Daniel Graepler (eds.): Dactyliotheken. Gods & Caesars from the Drawer. Ancient Gems in 18th and 19th Century Print Collections.
Biering & Brinkmann, Munich 2006
Description: Titled on the spine: "Dolce Gemme Antich"
Two rare volumes, each containing 48 white oval cameos, presented in wooden cases with clasps, bound in contemporary Italian style – reminiscent of books. The fronts of the covers bear handwritten descriptions.
A dactyliotheca (Greek: daktyliothekē, ring container, ring box) was originally a collection of antique (signet) rings. Later, the term was primarily used for a collection of impressions of carved jewelry or precious stones (gems ​​or cameos), although the collection may also contain originals. In the 18th century, replicas and impressions in plaster, sealing wax, sulfur, or wax of glyptic products – that is, products made by the plastic processing of gemstones and precious stones, rock crystal, and similar types of stone using cutting and grinding tools – enjoyed increasing popularity. They were less expensive than the originals, which were of higher material value and, due to their rarity, also possessed high collector value. These replicas were valued primarily for their informative value about the art and culture of the respective era. In the enlightened bourgeois world of the second half of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, owning a collection of originals or replicas of glyptic works was, in a sense, a testament to belonging to the educated social class.