184 " On Gnostic Amulets" 



When art moved westward it as a rule adopted other materials, 

 and especially the sard, with all its varieties, which throughout 

 Greek and Roman times is the popular seal stone, which in 

 fact it still remains, no other stone uniting the qualities of 

 toughness, facility of working, richness of colour, high polish, &c. 

 It has been supposed that the Greek especially affected the lighter 

 kind of sard, transparent yellow and light red ; while the Etruscan 

 almost invariably use their native carnelian, a dark opaque red, for 

 their peculiar and often puzzling signets ; but this is anything but a 

 certain rule, as fine Greek work may be found on garnet and other 

 precious stones. After the conquests of Alexander, the East, now 

 opened for commerce, supplied a variety of material for the graver's 

 art, and in Roman times every kind of gem, except the diamond, 

 was pressed into the service. The ruby, emerald, sapphire, garnet, 

 were used, while all the endless varieties of sard, sardonyx, onyx, 

 niccolo, jasper, &c,, will be found represented in an ordinary col- 

 lection. One stone I believe to be peculiar to Roman art — the 

 so-called red jasper (bole ammoniac) easily worked, and very showy. 

 Some of the finest heads known, as the Minerva in the Vienna 

 collection, are engraved on it. 



The modern method of engraving by the wheel was not known 

 to the ancients : it is said to have been invented in Domitian's time. 

 And the earlier work shows at once that the deeper part of the en- 

 graving was made by means of the common drill, the details being 

 inserted by careful scratching with the diamond point. Some, 

 however — especially the Archaic Greek and Italo Greek, are sketched 

 on the stone with the diamond point alone. The Roman artist, 

 aiming at bolder effect than the Greek, used the drill freely, even 

 for the hair of portrait busts, and often thus sunk his design very 

 deeply in the stone, finishing it, as before, with the diamond point. 

 (All this is more or less conjecture. Greek artists cut signets for 

 Roman owners, &c.) 



With the invention of the wheel a death-blow was struck to the 

 glyptic art. The comparative facility and rapidity with which 

 designs could be re-produced made the occupation a mere trade. It 

 was no longer the artist who designed and carved the work, but 



