more
or less, in it, according to the mine from which it is extracted. It is
also found with small portions of copper and very small particles of
gold.
It is obtained in the Alps, in Switzerland, Piedmont, and America.
Peruvian marquisite is called stone of the Incas, because
the ancient sovereigns of Peru attributed very great virtues to it, and
wore rings and amulets which were made of it, and were enclosed with
them in their sepulchres. They also used this material to make mirrors,
and executed so mush fine work in it as to give a high idea of their
civilization.
The
most beautiful kind of marquisite, of a straw-yellow colour, comes from
the Vale of Antigono, near the Lago Maggiore, but it is rare.
In the beginning of the present century marquisite was much used in feminine ornaments.
