Magic rock crystal

Abstract

"For a long time, people assumed that rock crystal was water that had been solidified to form eternal ice. They used it to create objects with the aura of the divine. From Antiquity to the end of the Middle Ages, the spectrum of works extended from vessels for sacred and profane objects to crosses, chess pieces, amulets, chilling balls, badges of office and magnifying glasses. The facets of rock crystal as a material, its processing, uses and symbolic interpretation are illustrated from the perspective of art, mineralogy, archaeology, philology and optics."--

Contents

From mineral to artefact -- Rediscovery and appropriation of antiquity -- Manifestation of power and beauty -- Seeing and touching.