Quantcast
  We apologize for any slow response. This will be fixed before October 31st Portal logo
Login/Register
Bactrian Gold Treasure from Afghanistan, coming soon....
/gemstones/king-gems-decorative-stones/page_068 - 2
 

Callais, Turquois

Callais, Turquois Page of 384 Callais, Turquois Text size:minus plus Restore normal size   Mail page  Print this page
CALLAIS AND CALLAINA.
59
the Callaina to be found in Solinus is to the same effect as that cited from Pliny, but with the important addition "that it comes next to the Emerald in price and estima­tion :" a further support of my own idea of its real character.
Salmasius was the first to conjecture that "Callaina," not " Callais," was the true reading in this chapter of Pliny's,—a correction since verified by Jan's discovery 01 the genuine text,—and supposed it connected with the name of a peculiar green dye, " Callaicum." Amongst the Indian exports specified in the ' Feriplus of the Red Sea' we find "pepper, the stone Callainos, Lapis-lazuli, indigo." This being the case, the Callaina may reasonably be sup­posed a variety of the Topazios, but derived from India and Persia, whereas the original and finest kind was con­sidered peculiar to the island of the Red Sea, where it had been first discovered (topazios). For Peridots vary very greatly in colour. Those· of the deepest green are naturally the most esteemed : others again are all but colourless. Such a distinction was quite sufficient to oblige the Greek mineralogists, judging solely by the eye, to class the To­pazios. deep-green, and the Callaina, yellowish-green, under different species.
The Callais, however, which is entered separately in Pliny's alphabetical list of the inferior stones (c. 56), and therefore must have been regarded by him as something totally distinct from his Callaina (a gem of sufficient im­portance to engross an entire chapter to itself), has much better claims to stand for our Turquois ; for " it resembled Lapis-lazuli, only was whiter (candidior), and of the tint of the sea where it is shallow."
The older mineralogists, like De Boot, took Pliny's "Jaspis aërizusa," or cerulean Jasper, for the Turquois; but without good reason, that stone being incontestably our
Callais, Turquois Page of 384 Callais, Turquois
Suggested Illustrations
Other Chapters you may find useful
Other Books on this topic
bullet Tag
This Page