Synopses & Reviews
'Beazley treated the gems, rings and cameos listed in this volume as monuments deserving as much attention in description of detail, even to the forms of letters in inscriptions, as any other work of art'. First published in 1920, and now re-published here, this volume reproduces Beazley's dscriptions and commentary on the Lewes House Collection of intaglios and cameos sold to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston from the collection of Edward Perry Warren. The collection includes objects of Cretan, Mycenaean, Phoenician, Greek, Hellenistic, Etruscan, Roman and Renaissance origins all of which are illustrated with enlarged black and white photographs. Also includes updated references and many of Beazley's original margin notes.
Synopsis
J.D. Beazley's The Lewes House Collection of Ancient Gems (1920) was the first publication of engraved gems in what might be called the modern manner; indeed in many respects it remains a model few have even approached since and it is of an academic quality which is hard to match today. It is re-published here, with Beazley's descriptions and commentary, with updated references, and with enlarged photographs of impressions to demonstrate their quality. The two main categories of gems are (very broadly) cameos and intaglios of Greek, Cretan, Phoenician, Roman and Etruscan provenance. The additional material includes Mary B. Comstock's compilation of lists of additional references, and Cornelius C. Vermeule has added an appreciation of the collector.