Publisher's Synopsis
The six contributions to this volume discuss Roman and Byzantine cameos and the renaissance of gem-engraving from the 16th to late-18th centuries. Portraits of rulers and imperial figures represent the mainstream of cameo production for 2000 years. After its decline in the 7th century, the art was revived in 16th-century Italy. The Bourbons and Habsburgs were great patrons in the 17th century, as were the Romanovs in the 18th, but even the latter's commissions pale before the lavish patronage of Napoleon.
