Rare glass intaglio of Cupid and butterfly wings by Merchant c1790

This is an unmounted intaglio.

It is made of glass and was designed to be used with hot wax for sealing letters.

I have made an impression of this intaglio using hot wax to show that the intaglio works as intended and also to give a clearer image of the intaglio.

The wax impression comes in a small plastic case and is included with the purchase of this piece

This is an unmounted intaglio.

It is a large and thick light square glass piece which has a highly detailed image of a cupid holding a pair of butterfly wings

Cupid, the God of Love (also known as Eros), is usually depicted as a mischievous winged boy whose arrows cause the wounded to fall hopelessly in love with the first person they see. In this intaglio Cupid is seeing picking up a pair of butterfly wings. The Greek name for butterfly is Psyche, which also means soul. The pairing of Cupid and Psyche symbolize the complete union of spiritual and physical love.

The piece is signed Marchant – please read below for a full biography

The quality of the intaglio is superb and you can really see the detailing when you look at the intaglio under an eye glass

The intaglio measures 25mm x 23mm x 4mm and is in 95% mint condition

Biography of Marchant courtesy of The British Museum

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 classicial 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.