Engraved Gems and Rings from a Private Collection

Vollenweider, Marie-Louise. DELICIAE LEONIS: ANTIKE GESCHNITTENE STEINE UND RINGE AUS EINER PRIVATSAMMLUNG. Mainz am Rhein: Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 1984. 4to, original brown cloth, gilt; jacket. ix, (1), 321, (1) pages; text illustrations including 8 color plates; 105 monochrome halftone plates. Fine. A well-produced catalogue by the author of Die Steinschneidekunst und ihre Künstler in Spätrepublikanischer und Augusteischer Zeit and the Catalogue raisonné of the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire de Genève collection. Sinkankas 6922: “This magnificent and highly important collection of engraved gems and rings was formed over a period of many years, beginning in the early 1930’s, by Leo Merz (1869–1952), an eminent jurist and high government official in Bern, Switzerland. ... The prefatory remarks indicate the scope of the collection but notes that emphasis was laid primarily on gems & rings of Greek and Roman periods. Typical of the author, the descriptions are very detailed, and in addition to usual information, provide full descriptions of depictions upon the gems, and previous publication or description.”