Description

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Gemology has been applied in Cultural Heritage research for some years now. In this essay, the author takes a step forward in the study and understanding of the mysterious murrhine ware. The enigma of murrhine ware is that surrounding the material with which these legendary vessels were made of, as well as whether they actually ever existed. Gaius Plinius Secundus has left us with a precise and detailed description of this extremely rare and ambiguous mineral, both for its chromatic characteristics--so different from anything previously known at the time--and for the perfume that emanated from them. The first part is a review of the various authors who have written, discussed and hypothesised about this material, from the time of Pliny to the present-day; they are all convinced of their own solutions to the enigma (for example: amber, alabaster, porcelain, onyx, carnelian, fluorite, glass, agate, shell, sardonyx, obsidian, steatite, jade, feldspar). The enigma is subsequently tackled and--thanks to a scientific approach--solved. In this research context the author takes advantage of new and surprising results, analysing archaeological materials that have never been studied from a gemological point of view, which throws new light on the solution to the enigma of murrhine ware.