Les Cires De Bassompiere has decided to create their own little Neo-Classical revival by teaming up with plaster makers in Italy to create intaglio-artifacts. They are then sent to them in Amsterdam, where they use them to create intaglio-plates: decorative wall hangings in a variety of colours and textures. Each item is entirely hand made and unique using wood panels, papers, paint and ribbon and, of course, the commissioned Italian intaglios. Measures 7.75"L x 5.5"H About Intaglios What is an intaglio, you may ask? To understand intaglios, we need to travel back in time to the ca 150 years spanning the Neo-Classical revival: the 17th- to the mid 19th Century. This was a time when the European aristocracy would travel around Europe (Paris, Venice, Rome, Florence, Naples, Sicilly...) with a view to becoming Classically educated. The period coincides with the rise in enthusiasm for collecting, with Grand Tourists helping themselves to statues ("marbles"), paintings and all sorts of artifacts, filling their coffers as they travelled along. Intaglios, plaster medallions depicting scenes from Greek and Roman Antiquity, became the standard tourist-shop item to take home.
