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CHRYSOLITHUS.
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95
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Boot's
record of a Bohemian Topaz (presented to his patron Rudolf IL), two
ells long by one and a half broad.* Yet an elegant shell-formed cup
(Eenaissance) in this material, large enough to contain a half-pint,
has come under my own notice.
By a singular coincidence, Pliny actually designates one variety by the Greek equivalent for the German name, Capnias, for Rauch-Topaz. Again,
there was the Leuco-cnrysus, a variety produced by an opaque white vein
crossing its middle : a formation which would now cause such a stone to
be referred to the class of Agates. The Chrysolithus was at that time
counterfeited so exactly in paste that the deception could only bo
detected by the touch, to which the vitreous body felt warmer than the
genuine : a proof, this, of the value fine-coloured gems of the class
commanded in the Roman market.
Chrysolithi were, when of the first quality, set à jour (fonda
perspicua), almost the sole exception to the then universal custom of
backing the stone with gold : the inferior were foiled with aurichalcum, a
red foil of gold, much alloyed with copper. Transparent gems, when
extracted from the remains of their original antique rings, are
frequently found backed by a leaf of red gold, of quite a
different standard to the pure metal used in the jewelry of the same
period. Pliny also mentions the backing of Carbuncles with a silver
foil, a method still in use, and the most advantageous when the stone
is of fine quality. The object in using coloured foils is
merely to deceive, and to impose upon the inexperienced by thus
imparting to an inferior gem the finest colour belonging to its own
class.
Chrysolithi, whatever they may have been, were in high esteem with the Romans. They are ranked with Emeralds
* Meaning the Vienna ell of 27 inches.
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