Lapidary

A lapidary (lapidarist, Latin: lapidarius) is an artist or artisan who forms stone, minerals, or gemstones into decorative items such as cabochons, engraved gems (including cameos), and faceted designs. A lapidarist uses the lapidary techniques of cutting, grinding, and polishing. Hardstone carving requires specialized carving techniques. A lapidary (lapidarist, Latin: lapidarius) is an artist or artisan who forms stone, minerals, or gemstones into decorative items such as cabochons, engraved gems (including cameos), and faceted designs. A lapidarist uses the lapidary techniques of cutting, grinding, and polishing. Hardstone carving requires specialized carving techniques. Diamond cutters are generally not referred to as lapidaries, due to the specialized techniques which are required to work diamonds. In modern contexts a gemcutter is a person who specializes in cutting diamonds, but in older historical contexts it refers to artists producing engraved gems such as jade carvings. By extension, the term lapidary has sometimes been applied to collectors of and dealers in gems, or to anyone who is knowledgeable in precious stones. The etymological roots of the word lapidary is the Latin word lapis, which means stone. In the 14th century, the term evolved from lapidarius, meaning 'stonecutter' or 'working with stone', into the Old French word lapidaire, meaning 'one skilled in working with precious stones'. In French, and later English, the term is also used for a treatise on precious stones that details their appearance, formation, and properties—particularly in terms of the 'stones' powers'—as believed in medieval Europe. The beliefs about the powers of stones included their ability to prevent harm, heal ailments, or offer health benefits. Lapidary appeared as an English adjective in the 18th century. The earliest known lapidary work likely occurred during the Stone Age. As people created tools from stone, they inevitably realized that some geological materials were harder than others. The next earliest documented examples of what one may consider to be lapidary arts came in the form of drilling stone and rock. The earliest roots of drilling rocks date back to approximately one million years ago. The early Egyptians developed cutting and jewelry fashioning methods for lapis lazuli, turquoise, and amethyst. The lapidary arts were quite well-developed in the Indian subcontinent by early-1st millennium CE. The surviving manuscripts of the 3rd-century Buddhist text Rathanpariksha by Buddha Bhatta, and several Hindu texts of mid-1st millennium CE such as Agni Purana and Agastimata, are Sanskrit treatises on lapidary arts. They discuss sources of gems and diamonds, their origins, qualities, testing, cutting and polishing, and making jewelry from them. Several other Sanskrit texts on gems and lapidary arts have been dated to post-10th century, suggesting a continuous lapidary practice. According to Jason Hawkes and Stephanie Wynne-Jones, archaeological evidence suggests that trade in lapidary products between Africa and India was established in the 1st millennium CE. People of the Deccan region of India and those near the coast of East Africa had innovated their own techniques for lapidary before the 10th century, as evidenced by excavations and Indian and non-Indian texts dated to that period. Lapidary was also a significant tradition in early Mesoamerica. The lapidary products were used as status symbols, for offerings, and during burials. They were made from shell, jade, turquoise, and greenstones. Aztec lapidaries used string saws and drills made of reed and bone as their lapidary tools.