Project Stosch

Thousands of Engraved Gems-- and Philipp von Stosch made the Monocle a fashion item.

Baron Philipp von Stosch (1691-1757).

Philipp von Stosch (1691-1757) was one of the most instrumental figures of eighteenth-century antiquarianism.¹ He was a connoisseur of:

glyptic art [the art of engraving on precious stones.]

coinage,

manuscripts,

printed books, drawings, prints

Philipp von Stosch was also a bibliophile, a spy, a thief, founder of a Masonic Lodge in Florence in 1733, that became a direct concern of Rome, leading to the ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons, a Rosicrucian² and made the monocle popular.³

3,500 Engraved Gems

During his exceptional career as a collector, dealer and researcher of intaglios and cameos, Philipp von Stosch amassed ca. 3,500 original engraved gems and glass pastes, which, after his death, were sold in 1764 by his heir to Frederick Wilhelm II, King of Prussia (1786-1797), and are now housed in the Antikensammlung Berlin.⁴

Philipp von Stosch wrote a pioneering work not only in the discipline of glyptics but archaeology and art history in general: Gemmæ antiquæ cælatæ (Amsterdam, 1724).

Gemmæ antiquæ cælatæ by Philipp von Stosch

Gemmæ antiquæ cælatæ-1724

Gemmæ antiquæ cælatæ (Amsterdam, 1724) is regarded as a pioneering work not only in the discipline of glyptics but archaeology and art history in general.⁵

Project Stosch

Take a look at the website of the research project Philipp von Stosch (1691-1757) – collecting, visual documentation, research, and publication of ancient engraved gems - an example of transformation of eighteenth-century antiquarianism into proto-archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology, Jagielloninan University in Krakow.

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A LECTURE ABOUT ENGRAVED GEMS

Here is a lecture—thousands of engraved Gems!

Dr. Gołyźniak works as a Research Fellow in the Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland (home of Project Stosch). His research interests include the legacy of antiquary and connoisseur Philipp von Stosch (1691-1757). (American Numismatic Society lecture).

1. Philipp von Stosch had such a complicated life—"Stosch was colourfully described by Sir Compton Mackenzie as 'an expatriated Prussian sodomite' “and according to Jonathan Irvine Israel (Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the Making of Modernity 1650-1750, 2002:133), von Stosch was "the legendary deist, freemason, and open homosexual" All the details are too much for this essay but take a look at his Wikipedia article for more information: Philipp von Stosch - Wikipedia

2. L. Lewis, Connoisseurs and Secret Agents in Eighteenth Century Rome (London, 1961), pp. 38–90.

3. History of the Monocle – Monocle Madness™

4. Antikensammlung | Home (smb.museum) . Essentially divided into a library of art and design and the Archaeological Library, the Kunstbibliothek is the central storehouse of learning at the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Besides the Kunstbibliothek, however, there are numerous specialist and reference libraries, housed within the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin individual collections and institutions. The Kunstbibliothek also oversees their technical and administrative organization.

5. Gemmae antiquae caelatae 1724 - Project Stosch - Instytut Archeologii (uj.edu.pl)