TERMINOLOGY

The history of ENGRAVED GEMS has been addressed by experts in the field for millennia. Pliny the Elder, writing in the first century AD, devoted a whole section, chapter 37, of his NATURAL HISTORY, to it. but that’s not the usual starting place for newcomers, at least it wasn’t ours. A gentleman by the name of C. W. King wrote several books about engraved gems, or glyptics as he called it, in the late 19th century, we didn’t start there either. These volumes are not the usual starting place for beginners, but, in fact, they are a great place to start.

Don’t do a deep dive, a beginner will quickly get bored, not understanding a lot of what is presented. It’s best to just scan them, finding an interesting factoid or antidote here and there – that’s fun. Then come back to them every now and then, either for research or just more fun. Each time they’ll make more sense and be more meaningful, one is hooked!

So, we provide links to these writings as well as, in some instances, a quick summary.