AGATE AND CARNELIAN 



GEM-STONES 

 MINOR 



Quartzose Minerals 

 faoture of finger* and ear-rings, bracelets, chains, etc. The chief seat of the 

 manufacture of these articles is at Momoin. All sort of cups, vessels, tables and 

 nents are made of it. [Cf. Watt, Ind. Art at Delhi, 1903, 73, 476-7.] 

 Articles of spurious jade are also frequently met with. The most common of 

 those in India is the Afghan jade-like serpentine, largely used in Bhera (Shahpur 

 district) for making hafts of peshquabz (Afghan knives) and of hunting- or 

 ordinary table-knives, small boxes, etc. 



Trade. -- In Tpper Burma the export trade in jade-stone is very considerable. 



passes into South- West China by the overland route, but most finds its 



(own to Rangoon, whence it is exported to the Straits Settlements and 



I'hitui. During the six years 1897-1903 the exports averaged 3,911 owt., 



valued at 44,770, giving an average value per cwt. of 11*45. The exports 



in 1 '.ioti-7, according to the Official returns, were 2,998 owt., valued at Rs. 8,02,270. 



\ arry, Rept. on Jade Mines at Mogaung, 1888 ; Min. Rev., 1894, 17 ; 1895, 



40 ; 1896, 39 ; 1897, 38 ; Lawrence, Valley of Kashmir, 1895, 65 ; Scott, Oaz. 



Upper Burma and Shan States, 1900, ii., pt. i., 277-89 ; 1901, ii., pt. ii., 268 : 



Bennet Brough, I.e. 176.] 



11. Lapis Lazuli. Ball, I.e. 528-30. The lajward, rajavaral. 



A mineral of complex composition, but consisting chiefly of silica, alumina 

 and lime. It is commonly known as ultramarine from its blue colour. The 

 mineral powdered was largely used in India for house decoration and book- 

 illumination. [Cf. Paulus jEgineta (Adams, transl.), in., 200-1 ; Linschoten, I.e. 

 ii., 144 ; Tavernier, Travels, 1676 (ed. Ball), 1889, ii., 156 ; Milburn, Or. Comm., 

 1813, i., 138.] 



12. Quartzose Minerals. Quartz is the natural silicic anhydride, 

 but hydrated silica also exists. This has led to the classification of the 

 stones of this kind into : crystallised or phanero-crystalline anhydrous 

 quartz, represented by the rock-crystals ; uncrystallised or crypto- 

 crystalline anhydrous quartz, including chalcedony, jasper, agate, etc ; 

 uncrystallised hydrated quartz. The opal is a type of this last group. 



(a) Rock-crystal. Ball, I.e. 502-3 ; Holland, I.e. 107. The bilaur, phatak, 

 tansala. 



Sources. Rock-crystal is the name given to the transparent varieties of 

 crystallised quartz, the different colours which ore met with being due to the 

 presence of small quantities of foreign minerals. These coloured varieties are 

 known by various names, e.g. Amethyst, Cairngorm, Rose-quartz, Smoky- 

 quartz, Milk-quartz, etc., and Holland makes the following statement regarding 

 the occurrence of this gem and its use in India : " In the Tanjore district, Madras 

 Presidency, fragments of rock-crystal are collected and cut for cheap jewellery, 

 being known as " Vallum diamonds," whilst the bi-pyramidal quartz-crystals 

 found in the gypsum of the salt marl near Kalabagh, on the Indus, are to a 

 certain extent used for making necklaces, and rock-crystal is similarly used for 

 cheap jewellery in Kashmir." In Indian Art at Delhi, 1903 (I.e. 75), it is stated 

 that rock-crystals are also largely cut and made into sword and dagger handles, 

 beads, buckles, necklaces, etc. These are turned out fairly extensively in Jaipur. 

 The so-called " rock-crystal " buckles, etc., of Kashmir are very largely made 

 of paste diamonds. [Cf. Mandelslo, Travels, in Olearius, Hist. Muscovy, etc., 

 1662, 83; Tavernier, I.e. i., 389; Milburn, Or. Comm., 1813, i., 360-1; Min. 

 Prod. Ind. Rev. and Agri. Dept., 1892, 3 ; Watt, Rev. Min. Prod. Ind., 1894, 

 18 ; Nicholson, Man. of Coimbatore Dist., 1898, ii., 150. 



(6) Agate and Carnelian. Ball, I.e. 503-4 ; Watt, Ind. Art., I.e. 73-5 ; Holland, 

 I.e. 107 ; yamni, manka, etc. 



Agates ore concretionary masses or nodules, which occur usually in hollows 

 or veins in volcanic rocks. When cut across, the sections show layers. Their 

 composition consists of 70 to 96 per cent, of silica, with varying proportions of 

 alumina, coloured by oxide of iron or manganese. Various varieties are found, 

 known as Mocha stones, Moss Agates, Bloodstones, Chrysoprase, etc. 



Sources. According to Holland, a considerable trade in agate and the related 

 forms of silica, called hahik, still exists. These are obtained from the amygda- 

 loidal flows of the Deccan Trap, chiefly from the State of Rajpipla, where the 

 main source is a conglomerate near the village of Ratanpur. Here the right to 

 collect hahik is leased for a period of five years at an annual rental. The most 



561 36 



D.E.P., 

 iv., 687. 

 Lapis 



L.-ixuli. 



D.E.P., 

 ii., 167-75. 

 Quartzose 

 Minerals. 



Rock- 

 crystal. 



Jewellery ana 

 Ornaments. 



Agate and 

 Carnelian. 



