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<p>[QUOTE="Bronwen, post: 4535238, member: 5833"]Probably the most famous maker of these was James Tassie, a Scot who set up business in London in the second half of the 18th century. His nephew William took it over after his uncle's death & kept it going a while longer into the 19th. He managed to get access to a great many gem collections & was allowed to take impressions, from which molds were made for mass producing impressions in a variety of materials, with prices set accordingly.</p><p><br /></p><p>After Catherine the Great ordered a complete set in colored glass, and a cabinet custom built to house them, his business really took off, collecting them became a huge fad, so of course others wanted in on the market. A couple of other major names are Paoletti & <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/in-circulation/2015/liberotti" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/in-circulation/2015/liberotti" rel="nofollow">Liberotti</a>. Nathaniel Marchant both engraved gems & made impressions in England; Francesco <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/208094?=&imgno=0&tabname=online-resources" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/208094?=&imgno=0&tabname=online-resources" rel="nofollow">Carnesecchi</a> cut cameos & made impressions in Rome. It was not uncommon for gem engravers to do some dealing as well as making their own work. The only part of your origin question I can answer definitively is about whether all of these impressions were made in Italy: no; just as likely to be English.</p><p><br /></p><p>There are some clues about yours in the colors of the paper collars & the bits of paper still adhering to the backs. If you followed the link above for Liberotti, you will see that the black collar & green paper backing quite likely indicate the Ganymede was taken from one of their products. You can even see him on the first 'page' of the set in the Met's library:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]401125[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>You can also see your Ganymede here. Think 'unpublished' Tassies are ones that didn't make it into Raspe's catalogue.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/FD5AF00A-0F27-468F-A5B1-0D85374E7805" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/FD5AF00A-0F27-468F-A5B1-0D85374E7805" rel="nofollow">http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/FD5AF00A-0F27-468F-A5B1-0D85374E7805</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Based on the gold collar, blue background paper & yellowish tinge to the plaster, your second impression could be from a <a href="https://www.freemansauction.com/auction/lot/138-a-collection-of-grand-tour-plaster-intaglios-by-pietro-paoletti-italian-1801-1847/?lot=566170" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.freemansauction.com/auction/lot/138-a-collection-of-grand-tour-plaster-intaglios-by-pietro-paoletti-italian-1801-1847/?lot=566170" rel="nofollow">Paoletti set</a>, although Carnesecchi's were also wrapped in gold, mounted on blue & yellowish. Probably a popular combination. Tassie's impressions have gold collars; however I am not aware of his ever having sold them in this type of boxed set.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://freemans.blob.core.windows.net/stock/1049400-0-medium.jpg?v=63757571413330" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>I'm afraid I do not know who this lady is. I'm disinclined to think Juno, more like a priestess. I can't make out what she is holding in either hand nor what type of tree it is. The clues are there, I just can't read them. [USER=17332]@PepperAnna[/USER] !![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Bronwen, post: 4535238, member: 5833"]Probably the most famous maker of these was James Tassie, a Scot who set up business in London in the second half of the 18th century. His nephew William took it over after his uncle's death & kept it going a while longer into the 19th. He managed to get access to a great many gem collections & was allowed to take impressions, from which molds were made for mass producing impressions in a variety of materials, with prices set accordingly. After Catherine the Great ordered a complete set in colored glass, and a cabinet custom built to house them, his business really took off, collecting them became a huge fad, so of course others wanted in on the market. A couple of other major names are Paoletti & [URL='https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/in-circulation/2015/liberotti']Liberotti[/URL]. Nathaniel Marchant both engraved gems & made impressions in England; Francesco [URL='https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/208094?=&imgno=0&tabname=online-resources']Carnesecchi[/URL] cut cameos & made impressions in Rome. It was not uncommon for gem engravers to do some dealing as well as making their own work. The only part of your origin question I can answer definitively is about whether all of these impressions were made in Italy: no; just as likely to be English. There are some clues about yours in the colors of the paper collars & the bits of paper still adhering to the backs. If you followed the link above for Liberotti, you will see that the black collar & green paper backing quite likely indicate the Ganymede was taken from one of their products. You can even see him on the first 'page' of the set in the Met's library: [ATTACH=full]401125[/ATTACH] You can also see your Ganymede here. Think 'unpublished' Tassies are ones that didn't make it into Raspe's catalogue. [URL]http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/FD5AF00A-0F27-468F-A5B1-0D85374E7805[/URL] Based on the gold collar, blue background paper & yellowish tinge to the plaster, your second impression could be from a [URL='https://www.freemansauction.com/auction/lot/138-a-collection-of-grand-tour-plaster-intaglios-by-pietro-paoletti-italian-1801-1847/?lot=566170']Paoletti set[/URL], although Carnesecchi's were also wrapped in gold, mounted on blue & yellowish. Probably a popular combination. Tassie's impressions have gold collars; however I am not aware of his ever having sold them in this type of boxed set. [IMG]https://freemans.blob.core.windows.net/stock/1049400-0-medium.jpg?v=63757571413330[/IMG] I'm afraid I do not know who this lady is. I'm disinclined to think Juno, more like a priestess. I can't make out what she is holding in either hand nor what type of tree it is. The clues are there, I just can't read them. [USER=17332]@PepperAnna[/USER] !![/QUOTE]
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