Featured Want to carve your own intaglio?! Class in Atlanta GA Nov 12th

For those of you who ever wanted to try your hand at carving an intaglio, please see the event posting at the Michael C Carlos Museum in Atlanta, GA. I would love to go!

Chavdar Chushev is an artist, restorer, jeweler, and master of the ancient art of gem carving. His intimate knowledge of gemstones and precious metals is complimented by a familiarity with more unusual materials, such as exotic woods, coral, and fossils. This unparalleled expertise and distinct creative vision have made him one of the most respected jewelry designers in his field. Chavdar creates his works utilizing a blend of ancient and cutting-edge technologies to allow the metals, gems, and organics to merge freely in a bold and harmonious installation.

From November 8-12, Chushev will be in residence at the Carlos, conducting programs for Emory students and the public in conjunction with the exhibition, Making an Impression: The Art and Craft of Ancient Engraved Gemstones on view now through November 27, 2022.

During his artist residency, Chushev will participate in a variety of programs. Join Curator of Greek and Roman Art Ruth Allen for a public conversation with Chavdar about the materials, tools, and techniques used by artisans in antiquity and today on November 8 at 7:30 p.m. in Ackerman Hall. Or sign up for an engraving gem engraving workshop in which you will tour the exhibition with Chushev, learn about gem selection, iconography, and technique, and engrave your own intaglio gem.

There is also a terrific video of Chadvar Chushev recreating an ancient gem using traditional tools.

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I Zoomed in on the Laszlo-Excalibur talk Kenneth Lapatin of the Getty Villa gave in connection with this exhibition. His topic was the figures behind engraved gems who don't get mentioned as much as the engravers, the miners, the merchants, etc., but he mentioned Chusev several times.

 

WOAHHHH!

 

Wow, that sounds very interesting! I would love to see the exhibit in person! Not possible, though.

 

How fascinating! That video is fabulous; I had no idea about the complexity of the process.
If I lived anywhere near Atlanta, I'd be there!

 

There is another video of him making an engraved gem reproducing an ancient gem from the Getty Museum. It is fascinating.

 

That is awesome! I am bummed I missed it. I came across the exhibit by accident because I was researching Chushev.

 

Good lord-This kind of artistry is miraculous to me.Let's take this art back to pre-power tool 1450 BCE and you have this, unearthed in 2017-the Minoan/Mycenaean Pylos Combat Agate (which all you devotees know-but there's always someone new dropping in). P.S.- Sorry if this has already been posted but i still find it stunning.

 

And pre-artificial magnification, as far as we know, according to Lapatin. He speculated that myopia may have run in families along with gem engraving.

 

Done perhaps with a foot-pedal or water-powered bronze dremel ?

 

The bow drill seems to have been widely used. Not sure when corundum was identified as a superior abrasive.

 

Creating such fine precise work with a bow drill-I've got to look around for a video of it being done.Speaking of Lapatin,I watched some very good videos of restoration work being done at The Getty.

 

One of the first things that Lapatin took up in his talk was how we do not have images of gem engravers at work the way we do of potters & sculptors. He showed a couple of images from Egypt, but at least one of them he said more likely depicted beads being drilled, using the bow drill.

 

This gem's a masterpieces of the ancient world.Another (albeit much larger) great work of antiquity are the Riace bronzes, and the ancient Greek terracotta group 'Orpheus and the Sirens' (prev at The Getty).

 

Thanks for this! Sadly, (but unsurprisingly) there’s an extensive wait list for the adult workshop, despite the $100 - $125 price tag. But maybe I can at least get to the exhibit!