Cornell Gem Impressions Collection
Search or browse the collection
About this collection
This digital collection is part of a larger aggregate of five distinct collecting areas on antiquities, which include plaster casts, ancient coins, photographs and squeezes. Cornell University owns several collections of antiquities – originals and reproductions – from the ancient Mediterranean. Acquired mostly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, their primary purpose was to serve as hands-on material for teaching and research. Once housed on the ground floor of Goldwin Smith Hall, the University’s former Museum of Archaeology, they are now dispersed over several institutions, colleges, departments and buildings on campus.
Historical context
In Greek and Roman culture, many individuals possessed a personal seal, carved into precious or semi-precious stone, which they used to sign their name on legal documents and to seal correspondence. Seals were used as markers of identity and security devices, and carried unique images that were stamped into wax or clay to create impressions. Each image was incised into the stone in negative form, so that it appeared in positive form in its impression, a technique called intaglio.
Because of their practical function, engraved gems were usually carried on the person, often set into a ring. As beautiful objects in their own right, they were also worn as jewelry, set into rings, earrings and necklaces. Seals could act as important symbols of power and authority, used in an official capacity by city-states, kings and emperors. But they were also regarded as works of art, valued as both precious gems and miniature sculptures carved with incredible skill and attention to detail.
Using the collection
For questions about this collection, contact the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections at rareref@cornell.edu.
More information
- Collection steward
- Katherine Reagan, Ernest L. Stern '56 Curator, Rare Books & Manuscripts
- Metadata creation
- Caitlín Barrett, Verity Platt, Cornell University Library
- Funding
- Grants Program for Digital Collections in Arts and Sciences, awarded to Caitlín Barrett and Verity Platt, 2013
- Credits
- This collection overview was last reviewed in 2025.
- Collection sources