Philipp von Stosch: Collecting, Drawing, Studying and Publishing Engraved Gems

Abstract

This book, published with two online appendices, highlights and discusses critically a facet of Stosch that stands in sharp contrast to the dense negative mythology of him as a spy, hoarder and libertine which for a long time obscured and undermined the true nature of his accomplishments as a serious antiquarian, collector, patron and scholar. The rediscovery and careful study of a substantial part of Stosch’s vast Paper Museum of Gems, previously considered lost, have made this thorough reassessment possible. Numerous artists, including Pier Leone Ghezzi, Girolamo Odam, Bernard Picart, Antonio Maria Zanetti, Theodorus Netscher, Markus Tuscher, Johann Justin Preißler, Georg Martin Preißler, Georg Abraham Nagel and Johann Adam Schweickart, worked for Stosch on the faithful documentation of an astonishing number of engraved gems. Made for a variety of purposes, the drawings testify to Stosch’s crucial role in the creation and transfer of knowledge that contributed to the transformation of eighteenth-century antiquarianism and revolutionised the study of gems.