gems, jade, Fischer-Book, early gemology, early mineralogy

Schuh: Very rare. One of the earliest 16th century treatises on mineralogy and precious stones. It is a different type of lapidary, with its arrangement of gems and minerals according to color rather than the typical alphabetical sequence. The four classes are white, green, red and blue or black. Thus are classified: I. De gemmis candidis, including diamond, rock crystal, iris, ceraunia & astroite, pederote, asteria, achate, draconite, allectorio, and margaritis. II. De gemmis viridibus, including smaragdo (emerald), beryllis, chrysoprasio, topatio, callaide, prasio, heliotropio, jaspide. III. De gemmis rubeis, including carbunculorum generibus, amthysto, hyacintho, sarda, sardonyce, anyce, hematite, corallio, hephesite, chrysolito, electro, and opalo. IV. Gemmis coeruleis & nigris, including cyaneo, saphiro, calaide & ceraunia, de moris gemmis, de gemmis ad ectypam, etc. Adams (1938) notes that the descriptions are better than earlier works, although Thorndike (1923-58) declares the work little more than a compilation from Greek and Latin writers, above all, Pliny ...""

gems, beryl, red beryl, red beryl, emerald, Utah, USA

corundum, history.1, India.12, gems, Indian lapidary

Sinkankas: This work presents translations of chapters 68–80 of the Sanskrit Garuḍa Purāṇa, which “elaborately describes the supernatural origin of gems and their mineralogical properties,” along with the Graha-cocāra Jyautiṣa, a text that “gives complete information on the astrological characteristics and effects of the principal gemstones” and “explains how auspicious gems help remove obstructions in various areas of life by appeasing planets that are having unfavorable effects.” The first thirteen chapters focus on planetary gemstones, offering summary translations of relevant Garuḍa Purāṇa passages concerning ruby, pearl, yellow sapphire, hessonite, emerald, diamond, cat’s-eye chrysoberyl, blue sapphire, coral, red garnet, jade (including jadeite), rock crystal, and bloodstone. Secondary planetary gemstones, or uparatnas, such as red spinel, moonstone, yellow topaz, citrine, hyacinth, peridot, tsavorite, green tourmaline, white zircon, turquoise, goshenite, amethyst, apatite cat’s-eye, blue spinel, tanzanite, lapis lazuli, and carnelian, are not directly traced to specific textual sources, and some—like tsavorite, goshenite, and tanzanite—were unknown to the ancients, suggesting these may have been included at the authors’ discretion. Each gemstone description includes its properties and modern sources, and although there is no bibliography, a valuable feature of the work is its inclusion of alternative Sanskrit names for the gemstones.

gems, emerald, beryl, Brazil, mafic-ultramafic, phlogopite, schist, actinolite

This study unravels the spectral footprint of the Paraná deposit, northeastern Brazil, and provides strategies for emerald exploration in mafic- and/or ultramafic-hosted deposits using point spectral data and hyperspectral imaging. Potential host rocks (phlogopite and actinolite-phlogopite schists) were discriminated from other associated lithotypes after petrography and whole-rock geochemistry, using binary MgO versus Al₂O₃ and PC₁ versus PC₃ diagrams. Spectrally, phlogopite schist is marked by Fe–OH absorption at ~2,250 nm and Mg–OH absorptions at ~2,330 and ~2,388 nm. When actinolite is present, a shoulder at ~2,296 nm is recorded, and the first Mg–OH absorption feature is shifted to ~2,315 nm. Emerald crystals have their spectral signature attenuated in the presence of phlogopite. In a 5% emerald and 95% schist mixture simulation, two emerald absorption features are recognizable at ~1,150 (H₂O absorption) and ~2,155 nm. The emerald indices EI₁, EI₂, and EI₃ were chosen for the automated identification of emeralds in the Paraná samples based on the features at ~1,150, ~1,460, and ~2,155 nm. For the host schists, three indices were provided (MI_depth, MI_ratio, and ACI) considering the Mg–OH features of phlogopite and actinolite, allowing automated distinction between potential mineralized and other associated rocks of the Paraná deposit. Our results show that, operating in high-resolution mode (pixels of ~1 mm), imaging spectroscopy can detect the presence and characterize emerald in handpicked samples and drill cores based on chromium- and iron-derived absorption features in the visible to near infrared range. It thus represents a swift, reliable, nondestructive, and relatively cost-effective method for exploring for emerald and, potentially, other gems.

gems, beryl, emerald, Egypt, Cleopatra, history of gemology, archaeology, archaeologemology

Located at the fringes of the Egyptian Eastern Desert, the quarries of Hatnub have remained famous, since the Pharaonic period, for the quality of their calcite alabaster and, since their discovery at the end of the 19th century, for their epigraphic richness. The work carried out in quarry P and its surroundings, since 2012, by the epigraphic and archaeological mission of Hatnub (Ifao, University of Liverpool), has allowed a better understanding of the functioning of this quarry and in particular the way in which the blocks were extracted from it. Preliminary studies were also carried out to understand how this quarry (and the others) was inserted on the Hatnub plateau, through a vast network of roads and installations essentially oriented towards the production and transport of alabaster and the administrative and logistical management of the quarries.

gems, opal, diamond, history of gemology, mineralogy, beryl, emerald, Habach, crown jewels, gem trade, Hungary

The theme book 2017 takes you on a journey to some of the most famous and extraordinary localities of these natural treasures, from antiquity until today. Did you know that as far back as the 14th century Central European merchants used a sophisticated communication system to find out early about yields and shipments of the Indian diamond mines? Or that the precious opals of the emperors and kings of the 17th century were mined not in Australia but in Opálbány, Hungary – and already on an industrial scale to boot? Would you have thought that an emerald from the Habach Valley in Austria adorns the English crown jewels? These and many other anecdotes are waiting for you in over 30 thrilling articles. They tell the stories of individuals on over 200 pages combining the history of the Earth, economy and world politics with the passion for minerals to weave a picture that will leave the viewer amazed.

gems, glyptic, engraved gems, agate, cameo, intaglio, Egyptian, Near Eastern, Minoan, Greek, Etruscan, Italic, Roman, Sassanian

This book is a catalogue raisonee of a rich collection of ancient engraved gems housed in the National museum in Krakow. It offers a thorough insight into ancient glyptic art through the considerable range of almost 780 so far unpublished objects - cameos, intaglios, scarabs and finger rings of various styles, workmanship and cultural circles: Egyptian, Near Eastern, Minoan, Greek, Etruscan, Italic, Roman, Sassanian and early Christian, dated from the second millennium BC to the seventh century AD. Many pieces in this cabinet are notable not only for their top quality in terms of craftsmanship and design, but also for the materials used and engravings involving complex iconography illustrating religious beliefs, political allegiances, needs and desires that ancient people wished to be fulfill, fears, dangers and terrors from which they sought protection and even their daily occupations. The collection provides with a fascinating gallery of portrait studies presenting Hellenistic rulers and their queens, Roman emperors and members of their families as well as some private individuals. Some specimens are exceptional and unparalleled like the onyx cameo portraying Drusus Maior, likely executed by the hand of Eutyches, son of famous Dioscurides (cover) or a tiny but remarkably cut emerald cameo with a laureate portrait bust of Livia Drusilla as goddess Venus. Some objects have been preserved in their original settings (gold, silver, bronze, iron rings), which contributes to the study of ancient gems' chronology and indicate their users, while others have been later re-set into eighteenth- and nineteenth-century collectors' rings and sometimes more elaborated mounts. There are also pieces discoloured due to contact with considerable heat, which may suggest them to have been burnt with other personal objects on the funeral pyres and later deposited in burials. Noteworthy is the number of Greek and Latin inscriptions appearing on intaglios and cameos forming this cabinet. They span from owners' names to the subtle messages communicated between lovers and invocations to the God. Each gem is thoroughly analysed, described and exhaustively commented as to the device it bears, chronology and possible workshop attribution. A vast number of parallel objects is referenced too. This combined with provenance study presented in the first part of the book enabled to establish where a number of intaglios and cameos were manufactured, including almost 140 objects most likely to origin from the most important Roman workshop located in Aquileia. It ought to be singled out that many gems in this volume once constituted a part of distinguished collections formed by such personalities as Tobias von Biehler, Alessandro Gregorio Capponi, Auguste le Carpentier, Alessandro Castellani, Comte de Caylus, Count Nikolai Nikitich Demidoff, Baron Albert de Hirsch, Jean Francois Leturcq, Sibylle Mertens-Schaaffhausen, Dr. George Frederick Nott, Benedetto Pistrucci, James-Alexandre de Pourtales (Comte de Pourtales-Gorgier), Paul von Praun, Andrey Kirillovich Razumovsky, Jacques Meffre Rouzan, Philipp von Stosch, Antonio Maria Zanetti and many more. They seemed lost for more than 130 years, but now have been brought back and are accessible to everyone. Consequently, the volume presents three intriguing stories of collectors whose donations contributed to the Krakow assemblage. They not only provide the reader with a sort of background for the objects discussed further, but also illustrate nineteenth- and early twentieth-century collecting practices and the art market for engraved gemstones, contributing to our knowledge of the history of scholarship and collecting. In summary, this book is intended to be useful not only for scholars interested in gems, but also those who study the history of the art market and collecting as well as all the enthusiasts of Classical art and archaeology.

gems, bery, beryl, emerald, Colombia, Muzo, Chivor, Bogata

gems, early lapidaries, early gemology, early mineralogy, Albertus Magnus, Philippe de Thaon, Jean de Mandeville, Middle Ages, medieval, medicine, Bible, magic, symbolism, beastiary

Treatises on precious stones, lapidaries catalogue and describe gems, then present their medicinal and magical virtues. The emerald heals vision; the sapphire enables escape from prison; the diamond, like the sapphire, is the stone of love; the carbuncle, which is born in the head of the dragon, shines with a dazzling brilliance, and so on. From the lapidary of Philippe de Thaon to that of Jean de Mandeville, these little-known texts open a window into the world of the marvelous, while shedding light on medieval encyclopedism. These treatises on precious stones present the inventory of the jewels and their medical and magical qualities. This volume gives the translation of five treatises dating from the 12th to the 14th century, thus giving access to these difficult texts so that their importance for the history of science and for social history of mentalities may be appreciated.

gems, jade, jadeite, fei cui jade, jade at auction

This sale contained Lot 435, a necklace gifted to one of the daughters of Java sugar magnate, Oei Tiong Ham. The single-strand composed of 30 jadeite beads of uniform size, measuring approximately 13.44 to 13.32 mm., the translucent stones of brilliant emerald green color, some suffused with areas of paler hue, the silver clasp of later date centering a round star sapphire flanked by 2 translucent pear-shaped emerald cabochons, length 19¾ inches.