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Sardius, Sard

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298
SARDIUS.
their surfaces greatly scratched and roughened by wear. So true is this, that the existence of a perfect polish upon any of the latter class of stones affords in itself a tolerably sure proof that it is either modern or has been retouched in modern times.
The gradations of colour exhibited by the antique Sard are almost innumerable. The bright cherry deepens into the fiery red of the Carbuncle, and thence into a semi-opaque black, only red when viewed by transmitted light. The bright pale yellow increases in intensity to the richest orange, and thence to a reddish-brown scarcely to be distinguished from the Jacinth. This again increases till it darkens to the deepest coffee-colour, and complete opacity. In a rare variety a slight admixture of green produces an olive tint, but yet easily distinguishable from the Plasma. In all these, again, the variations of the interme­diate shades are infinite.
When Pliny wrote, the bright-red variety was the most esteemed ; the honey-coloured (i. e. the yellow and semi-opaque) were of less value ; but those of the colour of a burnt brick (testaceœ), or red and opaque, the common Carnelian, were utterly rejected. The bright-red are certainly very fine in tint ; they are extremely transparent, and often come near to the Car­buncle in colour and in lustre, but may always be recognised by the tinge of yellow invariably mingled with the crimson. Those in which this colour deepens into the dark tint of the Morella cherry were considered the males of the species ; for the Romans, following the Greek mineralogists, divided gems into males and females, according to the depth or lightness of their shades.2 In this bright-red sort are the finest Roman intagli for the most part found. The light-yellow sort, resembling amber, was much employed at an earlier period. On this most frequently occur the finest works of the Greek artists, more especially those stiffly-drawn but highly-finished figures of the most minute execution, surrounded with borders, which were formerly termed Etruscan, but now with more reason ascribed to the Archaic Greek school. Some good Roman works occur in this variety, but they are few in number and of an early date, their scarcity confirming Pliny's
2 Theophrastus (30,.
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