Marcella Edmund

About Crystal Intaglios

These little gems were first made, as far as I know, in England as souvenirs from the great cathedrals and castles, beginning in the 1860's. I have seen them referred to as Essex Crystal Intaglios. They were hand carved on the underside of a clear rock crystal, and while the early ones were left plain, later intaglios were colored and then sealed into their mounts.   The English images are very fine and often feature dogs and sporting images.  The most common type are butterflies and florals, made out of glass in the 1920's and '30's, with the designs pressed on the underside and then hand colored. These are most likely from Bohemia and Czeckoslovakia;  I have a few that are marked Czeck.  Most are in a simple white metal mount, although one does find them with more elaborate settings.  There was another production phase in the 50's and 60's with more modern images, often again place souvenirs, but I am not sure where these were made. At last count I have collected over 240 different kinds.