Western Europe, Neoclassical period, ca. 18th to 19th century CE. An attractive pair of stamped glass intaglios in glass settings: one depicting a kneeling nude Psyche - the Greek goddess of the soul - holding a quiver and reaching up to catch a butterfly flying above and the other displaying a scene of Achilles mourning Patroclus with Antilochus standing before him and a woman and soldier behind. In the second intaglio, Achilles sits atop a pillar that features the retrograde Latin inscription "MARCHANT F[ECIT] ROMA" or "Made in Rome by Marchant" indicating that this impression is from a now lost original by Nathaniel Marchant (English, 1739-1816). Popular throughout the 19th century and still collectible today, stamped glass intaglios, like these, are known as Tassies or Tassie gems after their Scottish creator, James Tassie, and his nephew, William Tassie, who developed a method to mold engraved intaglios into glass gems. Size of cut glass (about the same): 1.3" L x 1.8" W (3.3 cm x 4.6 cm); of intaglio (both the same): 1.1" Diameter (2.8 cm)

Nathaniel - sometimes spelled Nathanial - Marchant was one of the most prominent neo-classical gem engravers of the 19th century, and this intaglio was based off of a relief in Palazzo Mattei in Rome. The British Museum describes Marchant with the following: "Gem-engraver, antiquary and dealer, working in London and Rome. A pupil of Edward Burch (qv), Marchant was the foremost prizewinner of the Society of Arts competitions in intaglio engraving, winning four years running from 1761-64. He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1781 to 1811 and was made an ARA in 1791. In 1772 he left for Rome to study at first hand the famous sculptures of classical antiquity. This was to bear fruit in his 'Catalogue of 100 Impressions from Gems', published in 1792 and the major source for his oeuvre. The impressions were accompanied by a printed text explaining the subjects of each gems. Many were taken from the antique, while others were adapted from celebrated paintings or were portraits of his contemporaries, especially his patrons. These included the lawyer Matthew Duane, the 4th Duke of Marlborough and the 2nd Earl Spencer. On his return from Rome he was made 'Sculptor of Gems' to the Prince of Wales in 1789, and then 'Chief Engraver to His Majesty' in 1799, supplying Seals of State as needed. In 1797 he became engraver at the Mint, producing a head of George III used on several coins from 1804; in 1800 he was appointed Engraver at the Stamp Office, engraving dies for stamp duties and taxes. He remains one of the greatest English gem-engravers. The British Museum acquired gems by Marchant during his lifetime from the bequest of the Rev. C. M. Cracherode in 1799, including gems previously been owned by Matthew Duane. Some of the Museum's greatest gems by Marchant were destroyed in an air raid in 1941."

A near identical intaglio of Psyche and a butterfly can be found in the Beazley Archive at Oxford University under reference number 2414, and additional intaglios of Achilles mourning for Patroclus can be found at the British Museum under museum number 1873,0502.44 and the Beazley Archive under reference number 78.

An agate intaglio of "The Grief of Achilles Upon the Death of Patroclus" after Nathanial Marchant was sold for AU $51,240 (US $34,416) at Bonhams Sydney on July 8th, 2020 (lot 3, "Australia Jewels featuring the Grice Collection of Intaglios").

Provenance: East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA, acquired before 2010

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#175568

Minor chip to left side of Psyche intaglio, and both have chipping to peripheries of glass settings that do not affect intaglios. Otherwise, both are intact and excellent with nice preservation of detail.