The Treasury of the Sun King.

The article focuses on the cameos and intaglios from the collection of Louis XIV, the King of France. Louis XIV began to put together the most regal of collections after inheriting twenty-four boxes of engraved gems from his uncle Gaston d'Orléans in 1660. Louis XIV had his goldsmith Josias Belle mount the items to leave his own mark on them. An idea of the splendour of the room where the collection was housed was provided by the "Description sommaire de Versailles, ancienne et nouvelle," compiled by Jean François Félibien, an art historian and historiographer of royal estates, paintings and sculptures.