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Sapphirus, Lapis-lazuli

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SAPPHIRUS.
275
of Lapis-lazuli together with Amber are washed up by heavy gales upon the coast of Capri, which lies opposite though remote.
Although Pliny says it was in his times considered unfit for engraving upon in consequence of its substance being full of crystalline points (the spots of pyrites that appear like gold), yet we have works in it of every period of antiquity. True it is that for such (when in a good style) have been selected portions of the pure unmixed blue, mentioned by Epiphanius as the sort most admired. These, too, have in many cases preserved their colour and original polish to an astonishing degree, proving the vastly superior hardness of this species over that known to the Egyptians. Greek intagli in this stone are extremely uncommon, yet a large scarabeoid recently brought from Athens (Ehodes), is engraved with a kneeling Venus robing herself, in the purest style of the age of Phidias. The Praun Cabinet boasted a noble head of some youthful king of Macedon, on a large circular disk of the deepest violet, the reverse also engraved with full-length figures of Apollo and Venus : a work pronounced by Steinbüchel contem­porary with Alexander. The Blacas has Perseus, last of the line, wearing the winged helm of his mythic name­sake. Both intagli and camei of the Roman times are frequent in this material, in spite of Pliny's assertion ; though such are rarely works of great merit, yet fairly executed Roman relievi and intagli in Lapis-lazuli are often ¼ be seen. Of the former the Medusa's Head formerly belonging to the Cav. Azara is always- cited as the most remarkable for beauty and for magnitude. But of all antique works in Lapis-lazuli the most remarkable known to me is an owl about eight inches high cut out of the solid block with admirable vigour and truth to nature. Thus precious in its material there can be little doubt it
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