was more highly valued among the Romans, for engraving, than
even the Greek red jasper, of which they made so free use.
Vermilion jasper is seen only in antique work, but the
source of supply is unknown to us ; a white variety, resembling
ivory, is said to be exceedingly rare.
European varieties display different greens variegated with
other colors ; that found in England is entirely green, or
green spotted with red, flesh-color, or white. A kind called
ribbon-jasper, or onyx-jasper, occurring in Saxony and Silesia, is
made up of alternate bands or layers, usually red and green,
sometimes purple and white ; and when it unites a number of
colors, it is known as " universal jasper." If agate and jasper
are combined in the same specimens, they are agate-jasper or
jasper-agate, according to the predominance of the one or the
other. The Barga jasper, seen in the Florence Museum, is a
very dark red, or reddish brown, and white stone, and the
Corsican jasper, found in the same collection, exhibits rich green,
purple, and gray tints. The " Pebbles of Rennes," mentioned
by Haiiy, are composed of agate and jasper of a very deep red
ground interspersed with small round or oval spots of reddish
or yellowish white, and were used for ornamental boxes and
other similar work. The Arabian jasper is celebrated for the
splendid dyes it affords. The red varieties are colored with
peroxide of iron, the yellow and brown with hydrate of iron,
and the green by Chromate of iron.
The jasper was a favorite material for engraving and was
very early used for that purpose, as we learn from the first
breastplate made for the high priest of the Israelites, which
contained an engraved jasper. Some fine portraits of the
Roman emperors were cut on this precious stone, including a
likeness of Nero, on a specimen weighing fifteen ounces. The
head of Minerva on jasper, belonging to the Vatican collection,
