Emerald unguentariumI couldn’t resist this word, redolent of the flavour of a bygone age,

Emerald unguentariumI couldn’t resist this word, redolent of the flavour of a bygone age, when every ‘decent’ person had emerald cosmetics jars and the like littering their palaces. These pots were made of many substances (most often it must be admitted glass or glazed ceramic rather than precious beryl), and were designed to contain tallow based (animal fat) cosmetics, perfumed oils and medicines without absorbing their contents. They have been around since pre-Roman times, and were often interred with their owners, so are often found in excavations of ancient cemeteries.The one in the photo is in the Imperial treasury of the Hapsburgs in Vienna, was commissioned by Ferdinand 3 in 1641, and carved out of a deep green twinned Colombian crystal (probably from Muzo) with exceptional colour and transparency that originally must have weighed some 3,000 carats. The shape is somewhat irregular, no doubt to conserve as much gem as possible through the carving process, and the lid was carved out of the material removed from the inside. The current weight is 2,860 carats for a size of 8.5x7.2x 10.9 cm high, and there are four leaves engraved on the surface. The rock had been hanging around in the treasury for a good half century after being purchased by the alchemist emperor Rudolf 2, before it was cut by the famous gem carver Dionysio Miseroni of Prague. The job took the artist around a year to complete.LozImage credit: Andrew Bossihttp://www.internetstones.com/emerald-unguentarium-in-the-imperial-treasury-vienna-2860-carats-schatzkammer.html -- source link

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