Giovanni Pichler

Giovanni Pichler was born in Naples and trained by his father Antonio Pichler in the art of gem engraving in Rome. In 1769 he was appointed gem engraver to Emperor Joseph II in Vienna. Pichler's fame rapidly increased and he became a favourite of Grand Tourists. He also trained a number of the most famous engravers of the next generation, including Filippo Rega and Antonio Berini. Upon his death in 1791 his workshop was inherited by his half brother, Luigi Pichler. He went on to work for the Habsburg Imperial family in Vienna and so impressed the French court jeweller François-Régnault Nitot that the latter tried to persuade him to move to Paris. Luigi received many distinctions later in life including a diploma from the Academy of St Luke and membership of the Academy in Venice, as well as, in 1839, Knight's Cross of the Order of St Gregory the Great and, in 1842, of the Order of St Sylvester.

The same composition, although described as 'Ajace, del Vaticano' (Ajax - a common misidentification), is recorded in intaglio in the Paoletti impressions: Le Collezione Paoletti, tomo 5, cassetto 6, no. 362. The present cameo is inscribed Π or P , possibly for Pichler. Giovanni Pichler was known to add hidden signatures; see for example the cameo with Theseus and the Minotaur with concealed letters IP in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (inv. no. M.218-1962).