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Source Description
Tassie’s series of wax impressions of “the choicest” ancient and modern carved gems were a requisite possession for princely collectors and gentlemen, whether for study or to demonstrate their cultural sophistication. This drawer comes from an oak cabinet (Walters 42.1449) containing hundreds of Tassie’s impressions; the cabinet might have been part of Tassie’s shop furniture. Impressions in wax or other materials help to show more clearly the image carved into a gem—an unusual instance where the copy is “better” than the original.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
96217
label
Drawer of Gem Impressions
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
96217
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Drawer of Gem Impressions
description
Tassie’s series of wax impressions of “the choicest” ancient and modern carved gems were a requisite possession for princely collectors and gentlemen, whether for study or to demonstrate their cultural sophistication. This drawer comes from an oak cabinet (Walters 42.1449) containing hundreds of Tassie’s impressions; the cabinet might have been part of Tassie’s shop furniture. Impressions in wax or other materials help to show more clearly the image carved into a gem—an unusual instance where the copy is “better” than the original.
provenance
Purchased by Mrs. Thomas R. Boggs, probably from Good's Cameo Corner, London, 1933 (?); given to Walters Art Museum, 1942.
date
2nd half 18th century
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
drawers
gems
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
2
height
22.5
depth
30.5
dimensionsRaw
Drawer H: 13/16 × W: 8 7/8 × D: 12 in. (2 × 22.5 × 30.5 cm)
Source extras
style
Neo-Classical
med
wood (oak), wax, brass, and paper
creator_ids
5173
collection_ids
EAN
exhibition_ids
3390
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
5fba43cf9dd38b72