Intaglio History

At the height of its popularity in Rome (27 B.C. – 68 A.D.), glass was used in many ways, and it is during this time that we first see it formed as intaglios in jewelry. The reason for its use in this fashion was because in the hands of a skilled craftsman the glass easily mimicked the semi-precious gems that were highly prized by the royal courts.

While there was another brief period of high regard for glass in all its forms during the fourth century A.D., it wasn’t until the 17th to 18th centuries that intaglios specifically came back into fashion, where it’s popularity has held up until this day.