intaglio

American  

[in-tal-yoh, -tahl-, een-tah-lyaw] / ɪnˈtæl joʊ, -ˈtɑl-, inˈtɑ ljɔ /

noun

• intaglios,
  plural
• intagli
  plural

1. incised carving, as opposed to carving in relief.

2. ornamentation with a figure or design sunk below the surface.

3. a gem, seal, piece of jewelry, or the like, cut with an incised or sunken design.

4. an incised or countersunk die.

5. a figure or design so produced.

6. a process in which a design, text, etc., is engraved into the surface of a plate so that when ink is applied and the excess is wiped off, ink remains in the grooves and is transferred to paper in printing, as in engraving or etching.

7. an impression or printing from such a design, engraving, etc.

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verb (used with object)

1. to incise or display in intaglio.

intaglio British  

/ ɪnˈtɑːlɪˌəʊ, ɪnˈtɑːlɪˌeɪtɪd /

noun

1. a seal, gem, etc, ornamented with a sunken or incised design, as opposed to a design in relief Compare cameo

2. the art or process of incised carving

3. a design, figure, or ornamentation carved, engraved, or etched into the surface of the material used

4. any of various printing techniques using an etched or engraved plate. The whole plate is smeared with ink, the surface wiped clean, and the ink in the recesses then transferred to the paper or other material

5. an incised die used to make a design in relief

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intagliated
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• intagli
  plural
• intaglios
  plural

Etymology

Origin of intaglio

1635–45; < Italian, derivative of intagliare to cut in, engrave, equivalent to in- in- ² + tagliare to cut < Late Latin tāliāre, derivative of Latin tālea a cutting; see tally

Explanation

Intaglio is a kind of printmaking in which a carved design is coated with ink and wiped with a cloth; the resulting print comes from ink in the carved grooves. In intaglio, the shape that ends up printed on paper, cloth, or some other surface is carved out of a metal plate. The plate is either engraved by hand or burned with acid, using a technique called "etching." You can also use the word intaglio to describe a type of sculpture or jewelry making in which designs are etched or engraved. In Italian, intaglio means "engraved work," from intagliare, "to cut in."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

intaglio intagli intaglios

This Roman glass intaglio depicts the god Jupiter as an eagle.

From New York Times ● Feb. 15, 2024

A collection-based exhibition is now in the works, focusing on intaglio prints from the Renaissance to the present, likely to open in December.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2023

The most handsome pieces are the result of such traditional techniques as intaglio, lithography and screen printing, sometimes employed in tandem.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 29, 2018

The figurative and the symbolic, the real and the surreal creep across Thomas Wood's intaglio prints.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 18, 2012

Instead, I am staring at the pile of notes, at the soft wax impressions, an intaglio in reverse.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

Antonio Pucci, in the eighty-fifth canto of his Centiloquio, distinctly states that Giotto carved the earlier ones, i primi intagli fe con bello stile, and Pucci was almost Giotto's contemporary.

From The Story of Florence by Edmund G. Gardner

These intagli would be interesting relics for collectors of such flotsam and jetsam of a ruined dynasty. 

From Pickle the Spy; Or, the Incognito of Prince Charles by Andrew Lang

But it were well that Messere should notify to thee what the gems are, together with the intagli they bear, as a warrant to Bartolommeo that they will be worthy of his attention.”

From Romola by George Eliot

"I have one or two intagli of much beauty," said Tito.

From The World's Greatest Books — Volume 04 — Fiction by Sir John Alexander Hammerton

LAMBETH—Shortly before the closing of the court, Mr. Septimus Luker, the well-known dealer in ancient gems, carvings, intagli, &c., &c., applied to the sitting magistrate for advice.

From The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

The colorful intaglios — gems with incised carvings — likely fell out of signet rings worn by wealthy third-century bathers, and ended up trapped in the stone drains.

From New York Times ● May 1, 2023

The delicate intaglios, fashioned from amethyst, jasper and carnelian, range in diameter from 5 millimeters to 16 millimeters — bigger than a pencil eraser, smaller than a dime.

From New York Times ● May 1, 2023

Auctioneer James Laverack said reverse crystal intaglios were a popular form of jewellery "for both gentlemen and ladies in the Late Victorian and Edwardian period".

From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2018

Staff noticed a hidden drawer which contained about 30 items of jewellery, most with animal pictures on - called reverse crystal intaglios.

From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2018

But, as he continues, "many and very many years passed over during which the art was lost".... until in the days of Lorenzo di Medici the fashion for cameos and intaglios revived.

From Arts and Crafts in the Middle Ages A Description of Mediaeval Workmanship in Several of the Departments of Applied Art, Together with Some Account of Special Artisans in the Early Renaissance by Julia de Wolf Gibbs Addison

Related Words

• chisel
• embed
• etch
• imprint
• ingrain
• inscribe