Featured Finds Thread

I have had lead crystal test as glass, rock crystal is quartz.

 

How high is high? As Marie has posted, rock crystal is colorless quartz.

Ah, not something I could tell from photo. The one necklace I have with faceted beads strung on chain like this is lead crystal, with lots of fire.

Have never seen this. What was the context? Engraved gems specifically? Or art more generally? When it comes to symbolism, there is plenty that is open to interpretation, but in this case, I am prepared to say that this is just wrong. The use of the butterfly to represent the soul (psyche) dates back to antiquity and was picked up again by neoclassical artists such as John Gibson:



In art, Persephone/Proserpina is most often shown being abducted by Hades/Pluto, or with the pomegranate that led to her permanent captivity. In glyptics the main source of imagery is coinage. This decadrachm from ancient Syracuse shows her conventional attributes: a grain stalk, not yet ripe, in her hair; tripartite earrings; pearl necklace; dolphins in the field around her.