Very few forms of craft can match the skill and finesse demanded by one such as engraving.

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The History of
Engraving

2. Very few forms of craft can match the skill and finesse demanded by one such as
engraving. Gouging furrows into metal is far more exacting a skill than it sounds,
with its roots even tracing back to the ancient art of goldsmithing. To get a clearer
idea of how this cross between trade and art form developed, one has to look back
several thousands of years ago.
A Semblance of Style
Ostrich egg shells dating back to
60,000 B.C. have been
unearthed. Archeologists believe
that these egg shells were used
as water containers, mainly
because they bore engraving
patterns that would not have
present had they been used for
any single-use purpose.
Egyptian Expression
One of the most fascinating aspects of ancient
Egyptian culture is mummification, and this
includes the numerous steps involved in
preparing a deceased person for the afterlife.
Hieroglyphic engravings may be the obvious
contribution Egypt’s ancient burial practices have
had to culture, but the same attention to detail
can be observed on the various artifacts and
pottery strewn inside their various tombs.

3. Printed Progress
The ancient Chinese are responsible for the development of printing in civilization.
Engraved wood blocks from around 650 A.D. show not only engraving as the true
expressive art it can be, but also the amount of skill it takes to create accurate
images on such small items.
Renaissance Reimagining
The world saw the most ambitious applications of engraving during the fifteenth
century, when countless artists work to outdo each other both in the quantity and
quality of art they produced. Prolific engravers during this time have created
numerous pieces ranging from devotional art to sheet music to playing cards. The
Golden Age of Engraving occurred between 1470 and 1530, with artists such as
Albrecht Dürer, Martin Schongauer and Lucas von Leiden emerged elevating the
practice from a mass aesthetic process to an art form at the level of painting and
sculpting.

4. If the demand for engraved jewelry, furniture and even electronics are anything to
go by, the practice of engraving likely will not go anywhere anytime soon. For the
modern world’s aspiring artists, this means that a steady hand may be all that is
needed to do the countless artists that have come before justice.
Resources:
http://www.engraversjournal.com/article.php/2196/
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/engr/hd_engr.htm
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