Carnelian frequently accompanies emerald, turquoise and lapis\nlazuli in ancient Egypt. This blood-red stone, the color of the rising and\nsetting sun, symbolizes the terrestrial life and the passage in the other\nworld. It also represents the disk of solar gods that will become the halo of\nnew religions. This sacred emblem crowns the god Re, Isis and his falcon-headed\nson Horus, Ur\u00e6us the female cobra, and Hathor the horned goddess. A great\nexample is the Tutankhamen breastplate exhibited at the Cairo Museum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cornalines must be bright and vibrant. In the 18th century,\nthe great naturalist Buffon writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mineralogical\ncharacteristics of carnelian<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Carnelian belongs to the family of chalcedonies such as\nagates, jasper, onyx, sardoine, heliotrope or chrysoprase. This quartz, often\nbrightly colored, consists mainly of silica and aluminum oxide. In the vast\ngroup of silicates they belong, by their architectural structure, to the\nsub-group of tectosilicates. These represent more than half of the mineral\nkingdom of the earth’s crust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carnelian is usually formed at low temperatures in volcanic\nrock cavities. Mainly composed of micro-crystals agglomerated in rounded\nmasses, one can also observe it in the form of veining traversing other\ncrystals. It holds its red color of iron oxide. The intensity of the hue may\nvary from red blood, the most esteemed, to russet orange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Confusions\nand Possible Frauds<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The confusion with sardoine is very frequent because it is\nvery similar to him. However, sardoine (or Sardinian) shows a less translucent\nappearance and especially a browner coloring. Carnelian pulp is also finer than\nthat of agates and does not usually have pronounced zoning. This united aspect\nalso differentiates it from jasper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a long time, it is known to accentuate the hue of\ncornalines by heating, even by a simple exposure to the sun. A heat treatment\n“embellisher”, commonly allows more common agates to pass for\ncornalines the real red cornalines of good quality become rare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Provenances\nof the Carnelian<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The most famous cornalines come from India, mainly from the\nregion of Pune. Other extraction sites\nare found in Brazil, Peru, Uruguay, the United States (in Washington State),\nMali, Scotland, Iceland and Romania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Etymology\nof the word “Carnelian”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The traditional explanation is that the carnelian would take\nits name from the reddish fruit of the dogwood, the cornel. This shrub, of the\nplant family of the cornaceae, grows in the natural state at the edge of the\nforests and in the hedges of the eastern Mediterranean countries. The Latin\norigin of dogwood and dogwood is corneolus (“appearance of the horn”)\nin reference to the hardness of its core.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A less frequent but probably more accurate interpretation\nindicates that carnelian comes from carneolus (appearance of the flesh)\nreferring to its light red hue. Our carnelian would then belong to the same\nfamily as carnation and other predator and carnivore. The word would have been\nimproperly transcribed corneolus . The Romans mean indifferently carnelian and\nsardoine of the same name sardus or sarda .<\/p>\n\n\n\n The word carnelian probably originated in the middle Ages. At\nthat time, the language used by scholars was Medieval Latin, an altered form of\nclassical Latin. The corneolus form is most often found in ancient lapidaries,\nand the Frenchized forms become corneol and then corneline . The inventory of\nJohn, Duke of Berry, evokes \u201ctwo grants cornalynes \u201c. From the sixteenth\ncentury, the carnelian takes its current form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It should be noted that large glass balls, beautifully called\n“agates” in old playgrounds, become “cornalines” in\nFrench-speaking Switzerland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wholesale Healing Crystals & Stone Suppliers<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nCarnelian throughout History<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nCarnelian in Antiquity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The earliest concrete testimonies come from Mesopotamia. They\ndate back to around 2700 BC the remains of Queen Pu-abi were found in the tombs\nof the ancient city of Ur. She wears countless necklaces and a gold lapis\nlazuli and carnelian headdress (see illustration below from the Pennsylvania\nMuseum of Archeology, USA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Excavations at a nearby tomb have revealed a kind of little\nchest, known as Ur’s Standard. Decorated with friezes of warlike adventures, we\nsee characters and horses made of ivory and mother-of-pearl enhanced with\nIndian red carnelian. It is visible at the British Museum in London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Cabinet des Medailles in Paris has a tiny carnelian from\nthe ancient Cretan Minoan civilization. Dating from the second millennium BC,\nthis intaglio, engraved with great dexterity, represents an eagle removing a\nheron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Egypt, the carnelian protects the pharaoh and the solar\ngods. We find this sacred stone frequently enshrined in royal ornaments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Mus\u00e9e de l’Antique in Arles has a jewel representing this\ntrend, in the form of a ram-headed hawk covered with a cloisonne of\nmulticolored precious stones. The red feathers are made of carnelian. This\nfabulous bird dates from 1550 BC. Auguste Mariette discovered it in the 19th\ncentury during excavations at the tombs of the sacred bulls of Saqqara.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Egyptian lithotherapy also uses carnelian for curative\npurposes which does not seem the case of the Greeks and Romans. It is however\none of the most appreciated stones. The sardines should preferably have a\nbright, intense red like the flesh, without any haze or unsightly filaments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pliny the Elder reports that the purest cornalines have \u201ca\nfigure of heart \u201c. These are male stones from the quarries of ancient Babylon\nalready in ruins in the 1st century AD. It also comes from India, Ceylon,\nArabia and Paros and Assos in Greece. These, described as females, often have\n“tones of honey or terra cotta” much less esteemed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Romans place under the carnelian a little dull, a thin\nsheet of gold or silver to enhance their color as is still practiced today.\nBesides, the manufacture of jewelry and various small objects, the fine\nmaterial of the carnelian allows beautiful achievements of colored cameos. It\nis also used for the intaglio engraving of stamps and \u201cannulus signatorius \u201c(rings\nto be signed).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nCarnelian in the middle Ages<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The West of the middle Ages knows and uses carnelian. Bishop\nMarbode evokes it from the eleventh century: \u201cThe horn is stone oscure\n(obscure), grant virtue has its nature \u201c. Medieval lithotherapy recognizes him\nwith pleasant qualities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The carnelian, red as the heart, transmits courage on the\nbattlefield. The heart (the cuer ) symbolizes the courage and the virtues\nwarriors, hence the expressions: “heart to the work”, “high\nhearts” … Logically, it also evokes the color of the blood, and it is\nrecommended to stop haemorrhages of all kinds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the East, its tonic and astringent properties are commonly\nused. The Chinese exploit another\nquality of carnelian: its resistance to the heat of the oven. They mix\ncarnelian powder called \u201cma-nao \u201cwith copper oxide to obtain a powerful red for\nenameling fine porcelain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\ncarnelian in the Renaissance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Two types of carnelian are described: one bright red, called\n“old rock\u201d, comes from the Orient. The other, more ordinary,\n“cinnabar red\u201d, is commonly found in Germany near the Rhine or in Italy. A\nscholar, Anselme Boethius Boot distinguishes a third species, very pale,\nyellow-orange. This Flemish doctor also specifies the indications of carnelian:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Renaissance artists engrave carnelian with great skill. The\nCabinet of Medals retains the famous “seal of Michelangelo” that\nwould have belonged to the artist before joining the collection of kings of\nFrance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a carnelian of 3, 5 x 2,5cm reproducing intaglio, a\nscene of finely detailed harvest, populated with fifteen characters and various\nanimals. It has long been thought, as the Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, that\nthis perfectly executed work, dated back to antiquity. In fact, it would be a\nfriend of Michelangelo who would have realized: The famous engraver Pier-Maria\nde Pescia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The cathedral of Reims holds a very different treasure, but\nwith the course and history equally interesting. It is the nave of St. Ursula,\nship of gold and silver, decorated with carnelian of Japan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Its history begins in 1500, when the city of Tours offers it\nto Anne of Brittany. Later, the queen makes it an object of devotion by adding\ntwelve small statuettes: a gold statuette representing St. Ursula and eleven\nstatuettes of holy virgins enamelled silver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The nave then belonged to Queen Claude of France, then to\nHenry II, who had it repaired. In 1574,\nHenry III offers it to the cathedral of Reims on the occasion of his coronation.\nThe nave of Saint Ursula is visible today at the Palais du Tau located near the\ncathedral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n