gems, sapphire, corundum, history of gemology

The ancient art of glyptic (gem carving) has a long history, but sapphire makes its debut at a relatively late date, during the ascent of the Roman Empire. Its appearance in the cultures around the Mediterranean coincides primarily with maritime trade that was only firmly established in the late ist century BC to early first century AD between Rome and India (Indike) /Sri Lanka (anc. Taprobane). Until the demise of the Roman Empire in the 6th century, sapphire was a rare gem available exclusively to royal patrons or the wealthy and privileged. Unengraved sapphires, primarily blue, were set in opulent gold jewelry, and examples survive in some of the most significant cameos and intaglios ever produced in classical antiquity. In South Asia, sapphires were also quite rare, but their transmission between the cultures of northeastern Afghanistan, Punjab (Pakistan, peninsular India, and Sri Lanka occurred as early as the gId century BC. Here, too, blue was the most common color, but examples of other colors, notably yellow, are also occasionally seen. In South Asia, sapphire cameos and intaglios were quite rare; they are seen mainly in the production of plain and inscribed beads. The barbarian invasions across the Western world in the first millennium AD disrupted the trading networks of the ancient world. The long tradition of gem carving waned, and interest in transparent colored gems, including sapphire, would not reawaken for centuries.