ABSTRACT
The art of engraving on metal is of considerable antiquity, but because of the nature and use to which steel was put, its use as a surface upon which to engrave made it one of the later manifestations of the engraver’s art. Steel’s qualities resulted in its prime use as a tool, and as a cutting instrument, which could not have existed much before the 1 ith century b c , when the technology of steel was sufficiently advanced. The working of metal has a much longer history, however.
