The art of engraving precious stones at, the earlier periods of the Egyptian monarchy was comparatively unknown, although these people made beads of carnelian, felspar, root of emerald, jaspers, lapis lazuli, amethyst, and other bard stones. For the pur poses of seals, however, and for intagli, steatite scarabfei were generally used, and engraved gems are either of the greatest rarity or suspected, till the time of the Ptole mies. A very remarkable exception to this rule is a square signet of yellow jasper, engraved with the name and titles of Arnenophis II. (about 1450 n.c.) and his horse, in the British museum. Under the Ptolemies and Romans, the Gnostic gems, called Abraxas, generally of lapis lazuli, blood-stone, and jasper, begin to appear, but these are made by the same process as the Greek, from which they were derived. The Ethio pians, according to HerVottis, engraved signets. The same may be said of the neigh boring Phoenicia, which either imitated the cylinders of the Babylonians, or the scarabrei of the Etruscans. In Assyria, the oldest gems are of cylindrical shape, from 1 to 2 in. long, and half an inch thick, pierced through their long axis for a cord to attach round the wrist. The earlier ones are of serpentine, the later of the time of Sargon or Shal maneser, of agate, jasper, quartz, and syeuite, engraved with figures of the gods. and the names of their possessors-in cuneiform. The inscriptions, indeed, are often difficult to read, but names similar to those of Assyrian and Babylonian monarchs occur, one cylinder having a name like that of Nebuchadnezzar. The Babylonian are of the same type, and chiefly of haematite, loadstone, steatite, and jasper; have also figures of deities and the names of deities or the possessors, generally executed in a coarse rude style by the graver. Oval gems, indeed, appear, from the impressions on the clay tablets, to have been in use at the same time; that of cylinders passed to the Persians, under whom the art became much better, and chance has preserved the cylinder signet of Darius I., found in Egypt. These cylinders were abandoned for conical gems, principally of chalcedony, engraved on the base with figures of deities, in use prior to the conquest of Alexander, and were at a later period, commencing in the 3d c. A.D., followed by hemispherical agate gems, with heads, animals, and Pehievi inscriptions, generally of a rude and debased style of art. These, again, at a later period, were succeeded by convex stones en cabochon. often garnets, sards, carbuncles, engraved on the upper surface, with rude figures of animals, heads and other devices also, accompanied inscriptions, and these probably continued till the rise of Mohammedanism in the east, when the art was confined to the engraving of cufic legends on the most valuable of oriental stones, often with a great degree of dexterity. In Judea, the use of signets (see SEALS) prevailed, and the most important known instance is the Urim and or breastplate of the high-priest, consisting of twelve precious stones, engraved with the names of the twelve tribes; but no Hebrew engraved stones earlier than the 5th or ath century are known. Amongst the other oriental nations of antiquity, the Bactrians and early Hindus seem to have exercised the art of engraving on although no works of great merit of these nations have been found, and those of a later age are mere seals engraved with sentences of the Koran, or the names of the possessors, and when smeared with black or colored inks, were impressed on documents as stamps. Of the other nations of antiquity, the Chinese only have had seals (see SEALS) of crystal, soapstone, porcelain, and other .sub stances, with devices in relief for using as stamps, the subjects being mottoes from poetical and other works.
The Greeks, at the earliest period, are not supposed to have employed engraved stones for their signets, the earliest rings being of solid metal, such as the legendary ring of Minos; but at a later period, those of Helen, Ulysses, and the legendary one of dyges, are said to have had engraved stones. Orestes, in the tragedies, is also recognized as the son of Agamemnon by his engraved ring; and Mnesarchos, the father of Pythagoras, who lived about 700 was an engraver of gems. The earliest instance of an engraved gem is the emerald ring of Polycrates, set in gold or engraved by Theodorus of Samos about 740 B. C. ; while the laws of Solon against counterfeiting signets show that they
may have been in early use. At the period of the Persian war they were by no means uncommon. Later, the writings of the Platonists and Stoics constantly allude to gems, and the flute-player Ismenias, 437 B. C. , purchased an emerald engraved with a figure of Amytnone. Still later, the poet Eupolis instances the extravagant prices given by the Cyrenteans for engraved Stones in rings. Yet it is doubtful if any real Greek intagli earlier than the war of Peloponnesus can be identified, those hitherto cited, in low relief, inclosed in a guilloche or engrailed border, and of a bard and stiff style of art, having been probably cut from the bases of scarabmi of Etruscan work. At a later period, their utc was universal, and the names of celebrated engravers, such as Pyrgoteles and Appol .lonides, are known, the first named having the privilege of engraving the portrait of the monarch, Alexander the Great; Ptolemy V., presented as a most precious gift' his portrait engraved on an emerald to Lucullus; and Cleopatra had a gem with Bacchus. The style of engraving of this age is fine and noble, the hair indicated by fine wiry lines: the subjects are generally heroic, but busts and portraits of divine, regal, and historical personages appear. Sards, amethysts, and jacinths were in use.
Contemporaneous with the Greek school, if not earlier, was the Etruscan, consisting of scarabs entirely carved out of sard, carnelian, agate, with engraving oftep of exqui site work, but generally harsh, and sometimes of severe style, with subjects derived from the earliest Hellenic myths, and occasional inscriptions in the Etruscan language, the names of the personages represented, seldom more than one figure appearing on the gem. The subject is surrounded with a guilloche or engrailed border, and the scarabs were pierced through their long axis, to set as rings or to wear as other objects of attire. Similar scarabs, but of green jasper, and of Pluenician workmanship, have been found in Sardinia. These gems probably were made from the beginning to the middle of the 3d c. ma., when Etruria fell into the power of the Romans, who derived their engraved stones from the Greek successors of Alexander,. as engraved rings, with their subjects, are mentioned at the close of the republic, the device of Scipio Africanus being a head of Scyphax; that of Svda, the submission of Jugurtha; of Pompey, a lion carrying a sword; and of Czesar, Venus armed with a dart. So great had the passion for these charMing little works of art increased, that Scaurus, the step-son of Sylla, had even a collection of gems, daetyllothrea. Pompey sent the collection of Mithridates as an offer ing to the capitol; and Cresar; to outvie his great competitor, presented six such col lections to the shrine of Venus Genetrix; and Marcellus, another to the cella of the Pala tine Apollo. At the commencement of the empire, the portraits follow the costume and art of the period; the hair is expressed by broad strokes, the compositions rarely con tain more than, two figures. Artists of great merit, as Dioscorides, Apollonides, and Chronios flourished at this age.
The names of the artists who engraved the gems, and of the proprietors, are occa. sionally found upon them. The devices were various: Augustus had, first a sphinx, then his portrait engraved by Dioscorides; Nero, Apollo and the Muses; Galba used, first a dog, subsequently the head of Augustus. After the Antonines, indeed, the art rapidly declined, and portraits after Severus are rare, although even that of Mauricius is said to occur. At the middle period of the empire, the work is exceedingly rude, often merely scratched out by a diamond poin t in carnelians, jaspers. and garnets. Some works, indeed, of the later or Byzantine period exist, but they are of poor merit and execution, and the subjects are taken from Christian subjects. The gems of this later period are sometimes square, generally, howcrver, the long or convex oval. The camel, or gems in relief, the ancient ectypa sculptura, appear at the period of the Roman empire. This term cam,ei, of uncertain origin, to engravings on stones,of .