Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1892-03-18
PRECIOUS STONES.
strange ana Reautiiui Forms Into Which
They Were Wrought.

strange ana beautiful Forms Into which
They Were Wrought
Upon these three members of the I
great quartz family have been engraved
nine-tenths of all the famous intagli To /
be seen in the public and private col T.
lections in the various cities of the
world These engravings are not only
valuable in themselves as works of art,
but, from the indestructiblc nature OF
the material upbn which they have
leon made, have served for M least
thirty centuries TO hand down 20 Us the
form of the ancient warrior, rs well as !
his arms and accoutrements, besides IL
Illustrating historical events and relig-
ious rites and ceremonies, combined
with portraits of distinguished persons.
So indestructible are precious stones
that IL has been surniscd that the gems
forming the breastplate OF the Jewish
high priest. engraved with the names OF
the twelve tribes, and of immense
value, and which formed part of the
spoil on the destruction of Jerusalem,
will some day be discovered amongst
the chaotic mass Of priceless gems in
the treasury of the shah of Persia.
I Engraved gems have been discovered
\ amongst the ruins of Babylon and Mn
/ eveh as well rs in old Mexico. The
/ agate derives its name from the river
! Achates, ON whose shores il was found
/ and was used by the Romans and
/ Greeks for signets as well as for anu
! lets. Among the virtues ascribed to 1t
was that it's possession enabled the
wearer to obtain the love Of women and
TO heal the sick, besides being certain
antidote to poison.
Archbishop Parker presented Queen
} Elizabeth with Il large oval agate, en-
/ praved with an intaglio of Vulcan at
his forge, with Venus looking on, and
set rs a pendant, and with IL was
long list of its marvellous attributes.
This stone is now in the possession OF
Mrs. Barwick Baker Sometimes most
curious natural effects are found in IN
dian agates, and in the British museum
there is an agate with an extra resem-
blance to the portrait OF Chaucer; an
other resem bles the figure of bishop
with his inter on; and it is related that
the famous agate of King Pyrrhus had
4 natural picture of Apollo holding his
lvre. attended by the nine Muses.. Mr..
Kinr possesses an agate which con-
taius within a natural circular frame
q charming little sea-view taken by
moonlight, which he describes as re-
sembling one of Bewicll's little cuts in
the same line a certain Florentine
SURGEON discovered a means Of petrlfy'
inc human remains into real agate. anc
in the hospital OF st. Spirito, at Flor
ence, may be seen tabletop made NJ
of hearts, lungs, livcrs, etc, thus agat
lied into one huge slab; but the secret
of how il was done died with him. The
! agate, like the onyx, was supposed tC
confer the gift OF oratory upon 1T
wearer
Is Now regal shapes, now gods its face adorn,
e such the famed agate by King Pyrrhus worn
i II gifts the pleader with persuasive art
TO move the court, and touch the hearor'
, heart"
The carnelian most priced isssof /
blood-red, and was greatly valuea b.
i, the ancicnts; IL was very generally en-
ployed for engraving. There is u ppr
= trait of Sextus Pompeius in the Berlin
y. collection. one Of Helen in Vienna, ant
;. the British museum has several yer.
beautiful specimens on this material
The sard was the great favorite wit
" the ancients. and in the Blacas collec
lection in the British museum we lin
!. portraits OF most of the Roman emper
ors in sard, besides numerous classlca
: subjects. such as Ulysses entering III
- house and being recognized by his dog
and Apollo reposing after his victor
" over Mrrsyas Among the Frenc
= regalia was an immense sard seve
inches in diameter, engraved with tn
:. head of Medusa, and valued at nv
- thousand dollars, and in the Marlbor
- collection is magnificent intagli
~ Venus Victri The most beautiful II
taglio known on sard is in the Orlear
collection. 1t is group of nine figure
representing Mars and Venus surroun'
r. ed by the gods. 1t IS attributed to WI
cenza Bell, of Vincenza.
70 The agate was considered sufficient
n, valuable to be included in the stones I
IN the Mosaic breastplate, and was Ell
in graved with the name of the tribe
FL Naphtali. Once Week.