Engraver and gem creator James Tassi

In 1735, James Tassi, an artist and stone carver, was born in the suburbs of Glasgow (Scotland). The master created gems, and also collected his own collection of works of art. In his youth, he worked as a bricklayer, but after first getting acquainted with art, paintings from the collection of Scottish artists by the Foulis brothers, he decided to devote his life to a new hobby and entered the Academy of Arts.

In 1763, Tassi arrived in Dublin, where, together with his new acquaintance, the physician Henry Queen, he developed a new material with which it became possible to reproduce antique gems as accurately as possible. Soon the artist moved to London, where, thanks to the fashion for neoclassicism, he began to receive orders in large numbers for making copies of ancient cameos. He got acquainted with the art collections of European collectors, compiled catalogs for them, and in 1775 presented his own catalog, which included over 2.8 thousand items.

In 1781, a large order was received from Catherine II, which Tassi took 10 years to complete. At the request of the Empress, he made a collection for the Hermitage, which included 16 thousand casts that arrived at the museum in batches. In addition to copies, the master created original works that were distinguished by a low price and were known as tassies. He dedicated a large number of medallions to his contemporaries, producing many original portraits. During his work, he used his own sketches, and sometimes engravings by other artists. In 1799, James Tassi died, by that time there were approximately 20 thousand works in his collection.