Cameos and Intaglios: The Art of Engraved Gemstones

Philippe Malgouyres

Softcover | 15.67 x 1.22 x 20.68 cm | 76 pp

Editions Gallimard | 2022 | 9782072943270

Featuring over one hundred precious masterpieces from the world’s greatest museums and private collections, this reference work provides an introduction to the history of glyptics – the art of carving in relief (cameo) or incising (intaglio) gemstones.

Monarchs, aesthetes, and collectors have been fascinated by cameos and intaglios ever since antiquity. Author Philippe Malgouyres takes readers on a chronological stroll among these refined works of art, in which the natural beauty of the stone is magnified by an artist’s talent and skill. The study of cameos and intaglios reaches far beyond the simple history of techniques, tastes, and cultural practices, ultimately connecting us with the oldest and deepest layers of humankind in contact with nature.

Published for the exhibition of the collection of Guy Ladrière, at the School of Jewelery Arts in 2022, under the commission of Philippe Malgouyres, chief curator of heritage in the art department of the Louvre.