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Source Description
Guay made many gemstone portraits of King Louis XV, including this intaglio made of sard, a stone used for gem carving since antiquity. The naturalism of the king’s ringlets and plump double chin attests to Guay’s skill with the medium. The translucent luminosity of the orange stone and delicacy of the carving make it difficult to decipher the image. Red wax impressions as well as printed representations like those in Madame de Pompadour’s Suite (Walters 92.548) helped make gem carvings more legible.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
14457
label
Intaglio Portrait of Louis XV
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
14457
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Intaglio Portrait of Louis XV
description
Guay made many gemstone portraits of King Louis XV, including this intaglio made of sard, a stone used for gem carving since antiquity. The naturalism of the king’s ringlets and plump double chin attests to Guay’s skill with the medium. The translucent luminosity of the orange stone and delicacy of the carving make it difficult to decipher the image. Red wax impressions as well as printed representations like those in Madame de Pompadour’s Suite (Walters 92.548) helped make gem carvings more legible.
provenance
Acquired by Henry Walters, Baltimore; by bequest to Mrs. Henry Walters, New York, 1931; purchased by Joseph Brummer, New York; purchased by Walters Art Museum, 1942.
date
2nd half 18th century
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
intaglios (sculptural objects)
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
1.7
height
1.4
depth
0.2
dimensionsRaw
H: 11/16 × W: 9/16 × D: 1/16 in. (1.7 × 1.4 × 0.2 cm)
Source extras
med
sard
creator_ids
5152
collection_ids
EAN
exhibition_ids
3390
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
480ec48ca826f89a
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
db01985a3e98331a
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no