34 
Field Museum of Natural History 
In the fourteenth century there were made finger- 
rings inlaid with a piece of agate in which were en- 
graved the twelve horary characters corresponding to 
the twelve signs of the zodiac. A contemporary author 
describes the work of engraving as fine as hair and 
conveying the impression as though it were not an arti- 
fact of man; it was therefore styled "devil's work 
stone" or "stone of the devil's country." 
Powdered agate is said to have been used together 
with copper oxide and other ingredients in the produc- 
tion of a red glaze on porcelains. 
The great force of the Chinese lapidary is the 
carving of snuff -bottles in which he strives at bringing 
out the colors of the stone to best advantage, or cuts 
the designs in layers so that the different colors stand 
out in relief as in antique cameo- work (Plate XIV, 
Fig. 3). Agate snuff -bottles are on view in the case 
illustrating the use of tobacco in China (south end of 
West Gallery) . Some of these are reproduced in Leaflet 
18 of the Department of Anthropology (Plates VIII 
and IX) . The sentiment attached to the gift of a snuff- 
bottle of moss agate is that it should be a disperser of 
melancholy. 
During the K'ien-lung period (1736-95) and some- 
what later fine agate carvings were also made to be 
worn as pendants in the girdle. Three such ornaments 
are illustrated in Plate XIV, Figs. 1-2 and 6. The 
pendant in Fig. 1 represents a carp with lotus leaves ; 
that is, the carp is conceived as swimming in a lotus 
pond. That in Fig. 2 shows a bird with a fruit, leaves, 
and blossom. That in Fig. 6 is carved into three ju- 
jubes (Zizyphus vulgaris) with two small peanuts 
(only one is visible in the illustration). The snuff- 
bottle in Fig. 3 is of milk-white agate with relief carv- 
ings in black, brown, and yellowish layers. These rep- 
resent two monkeys, a spotted deer (Cervus manda- 
[138] 
