(70) Most perplexing, however, is the problem that it is difficult to imagine a lead copy even remotely capturing the translucent beauty of the white and red chalcedony of a
sardonyx cameo, which Grassi called "radiant." All of this vanished material culture of "archeologia collezionistica" constitutes an important part of the visual landscape for Donatello and his audience.
But, whereas you might expect cameos (carved in Italy from shells) to be the central point of the jewel, many prove to be cut instead from
sardonyx, which is sturdier, particularly when used in the making of rings - items of jewellery which always suffer from hard wear or misuse or both.
One description from the past calls the stars "beryl and
sardonyx!" While a nice easy pair in any scope, its exquisite tints are perhaps at their best when seen in a 6- or 8-inch scope at 50x to 100x (again, not too widely separated, and not too much nor too little light).
They are found set in rings, brooches, pendants and the like, and were originally created from gemstones with different colours in their makeup, such as
sardonyx and cornelian.
Four crew members were taken from the Fraserburgh-registered Elhanan shortly after another vessel, the Banff- registered
Sardonyx II, had to be put under tow.
January - garnet or rose quarter February - amethyst or onyx March - aquamarine or bloodstone April - diamond or rock crystal May - emerald or chrysoprase June - alexadrite or moonstone or pearl July - ruby or carmelion August - peridot or
sardonyx September - sapphire or lapis October - opal or tourmaline November - topaz or citrine December - zircon or turquoise
The evil effects of the onyx are counteracted if one wears a
sardonyx at the same time.
The Greek and Roman jewellers carved fabulous cameos in
sardonyx, coral, shell and other workable materials.
Firmly convinced the Henrician portraits are contemporary 0539-44), Kagan dismisses the suggestion put forward by Aschengreen Piacenti that they might date from the early 18th century and argues convincingly for an English origin, noting that, as a consequence of commercial and maritime enterprise, England was then the only country with access to plentiful supplies of fine
sardonyx. She then shows how, in spite of conforming to an overall pattern, each of the many images of Queen Elizabeth from the 1560s onward is individualised, showing her in various moods and at different ages, concluding with the softer, less aloof 'Mask of Beauty' at the turn of the 17th century.
Cameos were also made of agate, onyx or
sardonyx. Mount Vesuvius also provided an abundance of lava in many colours that carvers used to design intricate carvings.
