Based on research by Ramat Gan Diamond Museum Curator Yehuda Kassif
“Gemstone carving is an art form that has existed for thousands of years. These are small works of art, little statues, beads, and decorative objects, made using expensive materials – precious and semiprecious gems. These little works of art often portray historical figures or events and have been used a substitute for painting or engravings. Today, painting and photography serve a similar purpose,” www.israelidiamond.co.il writes.
The art of embossing has been known since ancient times when it was used to decorate castles in the ancient cities of Assyria and Egypt, the portal says. It was used for sculpture, temples, and sarcophagi, but was not a portable art form. Small embossed gemstones were carved artwork that could easily be carried, transported, and displayed. These embossed gemstones were known as cameos. Today, gemstone embossing is widespread in Europe and the Far East, where jade is used as the main material.
The Origin of the Term Cameo
The word cameo (cameos in the plural) is of uncertain origin. It is widely held that the words camaieu or camaheu, which appeared in French in the 13th century, arrived with Crusaders returning from the East and originated from the Greek.
The term cameo, used to describe a relief carving on a stone or shell, is often translated into Hebrew as kamiah, the Hebrew word for an amulet or talisman, which has caused some misunderstanding. A cameo doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the mystical associations of the Hebrew kamiah.
Carving Techniques
A cameo is essentially a two-dimensional sculpture that uses flat, colored gemstones, from which thin, delicate layers are removed, giving depth and perspective to the subject of the carving. The subject - a figure, animal, or element of nature - is embossed and the background is pared down through carving. The embossing reveals the stone's natural layers of color and uses them for the image and the background. The technique employs sharp tools similar to those a dentist uses.
Intaglio, which comes from the Latin tagliare – to cut – are also cameos, but are produced through a different technique. Generally, the intaglio uses a clear or semi-opaque gemstone. The carving surfaces are smooth and the figure appears to be reflected in the stone. In effect, the embossing is done on the back of the stone by carving out the figure itself rather than the background, as in a cameo. This sort of cameo can be viewed from two directions – from the smooth side the viewer will see the figure "floating" in the stone. Sometime paint is used to color the image.
The History of Stone Carving Through the Ages
Embossing art has been found throughout human history. Gemstone carving began in the fifth millennium BCE and ancient Babylon was considered the cradle of gemstone cutting. During the Hellenistic Greek period (800-500 BCE), gemstone cutting flourished mainly in the Mediterranean islands. This period saw the humanitarian ideal defined in art and expressed in embossing works that included figures from Greek mythology and natural elements.
In the third century BCE, Egyptian artists influenced the art of embossing. They developed new carving techniques: The figure and its details standing out while the background is cut back. At this time, the first large cameos were created, usually out of Indian sardonyx. This stone was particularly beloved by embossers for its colorful layers that allowed multilayered pictures. This period gave us the cameo of King Ptolemy II, a landmark in the art of gemstone cutting. The subjects of embossed gemstones from this period were a mix of Egyptian motifs with a Hellenistic artistic orientation, and later on Roman elements.
In Roman times cameo carvings were considered some of the most important items in Roman treasuries. The Roman cameos continued the artistic tradition of the Hellenistic cameos. We know the names of embossing artists from this period, like Discorides, a carver from the court of the Emperor Augustus (60-14 BCE).
Cameo and intaglio art enjoyed a renewed growth during the Italian Renaissance, which recognized art work from the Hellenistic and Greek periods as the ideal of beauty. This trend sparked sculptors, artists, and embossers to express their art in ways that had been known in the Roman and Hellenistic periods. In the 15th and the beginning of the 16th centuries cameos were created by such well-known artists at Matteo Del-Nassro (1515-1547), Valerio Bellelli (1468-1546), Giovanni de Bernardi (1494-1553) and Giovanni delle Carniole.
Cameos made by these and other artists from the time are artistic achievements that have all been recognized as the pinnacle of the art of stonecutting. The climax of this period came with the work of Anibel Fontant (1540-1587) and cameos from the workshops of the Serrachio brothers and the Ottavio Mizroni family in Milan, whose artwork and cameos can be seen today in important museums in Europe and the US.
In addition to cameos, Italian Renaissance carving also produced fine household items out of precious stone. Goblets and bowls were created from stones such as quartz, amethyst, and lapis lazuli. The nobility was excited by this work and they could afford to buy it, as the Medicis did. The Medici collection includes the famous "Firenze Plate."
In the 18th century, carving family crests and heraldic symbols became a subgenre of the embossing art. Names of families who excelled in the craft are known from this period – the Fitchler family and artists like Natter Hacker and Merchand. It is interesting to note that the well-known poet Johan Wolfgang von Goethe, whose image was carved as an intaglio by Hacker, himself became a collector of cameos.
Starting from the mid-19th century, Paris began to influence the tone of art, culture, and fashion. A gemstone carving industry quickly developed in the city that attracted many young artists from the cities of Idar and Oberstein in Germany. The most famous of these was Wilhelm Lazer, an artist who made a name for himself as an embosser. He arrived in Paris in 1857 at age 14, and his best-known work is the Venus Cameo, which, along with wedding jewelry he made for his wife, is displayed in the museum at Idar-Oberstein.
The Idar-Oberstein School
The art of gemstone carving in Idar-Oberstein was greatly influenced by growing interest in artistic creation and stonecutting. Interest in embossing was continually growing in different countries – Europe, the US, and starting in 1975, Japan. Gemstone carvers were invited to and took part in international exhibitions.
Modern-day gemstone carving expresses a modern zeitgeist and places importance on three-dimensional sculpting, bass relief sculpture, realistic depiction of human figures, changes in the monochromatic character and designing family coats of arms, carving reliefs, and shading techniques. Students of gemstone cutting were asked to carve bowls from rock quartz, baguette, and other gemstones. Gemstone cutters who learned their skills in various courses developed their abilities and created a personal style.
The accelerated development of technical tools, which happened in the 1980s and threatened to create overproduction and cheapen the product, did not present a threat to collectors of embossed stone. The opposite - the development of these techniques became an additional incentive that encouraged Idar-Oberstein artists to create new works of art. The value of new, original art work was retained and sometimes even increased. Sometimes, the "industrial" item lent a new and modern design. Professional competitions and various prizes, including those on the international level, highlighted the excellence and quality to which the sector was dedicated.
