A paradox of eighteenth-century antiquarianism

The ancient Near Eastern seals known in eighteenth-century Europe as ‘Persian’ gems were rare in collections, but casts made them available to a wider audience. Collectors and scholars viewed gem casts as accurate ‘facsimiles’ of the originals, but the casts of the ‘Persian’ gems produced by James Tassie’s workshop show that the reproductions were not as straightforward as their reputation suggests. Rather, technical processes, antiquarian habits, aesthetic imperatives, and commercial impulses altered or eliminated some of the seals’ distinctive characteristics. The casts generated a paradox of simultaneous exposure and concealment for the ‘Persian’ gems at a time when non-classical cultures like Persia occupied a changing position in antiquarian studies.

Art · Art history · European Political History Analysis · Historical Art and Culture Studies · Historical Economic and Social Studies