Notes on Some of the Antique and Renaissance Gems and Jewels in Her Majesty's Collection at Windsor Castle

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Excerpt from Notes on Some of the Antique and Renaissance Gems and Jewels in Her Majesty's Collection at Windsor Castle: Communicated to the Society of Antiquaries This examination was made with a view to reporting on the collection for Her Majesty's private information. Availing myself of this privilege to make a preliminary descriptive list of the whole series, I was the more strongly impressed with the great excellence of some of these examples of antique and Renaissance art, and suggested that application might be made for permission to take photographs or drawings of the 2)rincipal specimens. That permission has been most liberally accorded, and the accompanying illustrations exhibit some of the more remarkable objects in the Royal Cabinet. The Collection is, at present, arranged in two glazed tabular cases, that occupy corresponding places on either side of a door of entrance to the elegantly decorated room known as the Private Audience Chamber in Windsor Castle. It numbers in all 292 objects of a somewhat heterogeneous character, for among them are works representing the most developed period of the GrecoRoman scalptor sart, others descending through the Byzantine to the period of the Renaissance, and many by the more imitative artists of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries of our era. Among the latter not a few are portraits, the majority of which, although not at present recognised, are of considerable interest, and might afford profitable stvuly in tracing, and as far as possible verifying, their likeness to the originals whom they may represent. My present purpose is not, however, to undertake a work of this nature, but merely to draw attention to, and put more distinctly on record, some of the more important objects of the cabinet, considered from an artistic and archaeological point of view, commencing with those of earlier date. The autotypes obtained by Her Majestys gracious permission will greatly enhance the interest of their description, and assist us in appreciating the beauty of the objects which they so accurately portray. Of those that I have selected as being of more importance than the remainder, the number amounts to 68, viz. antique gems, 16, recent gems and enamelled jewels, 52. Of these autotypes of 25 have been taken, and wood engravings of two rings and one gem. Some few antique and modern gems, of minor relative value as to subject or artistic merit, have been included in the following descriptive list, for, although secondary, they are perhaps worthy of being recorded. Report furnLshed to Her Majesty, 1872. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.