- Origin: South Africa
- Size: D26.5cm
- Description: Of spherical form, polished to highlight rich reds and golden colours. Polished in Idar-Oberstein, Germany.
- Additional information:
- Jasper, opaque, fine-grained or dense variety of the silica mineral chert that exhibits various colours. Chiefly brick red to brownish red, it owes its colour to admixed hematite; but when it occurs with clay admixed, the colour is a yellowish white or gray, or with goethite a brown or yellow. Jasper, long used for jewelry and ornamentation, has a dull lustre but takes a fine polish; its hardness and other physical properties are those of quartz.
- The name jasper is from the Greek iaspis, of Semitic origin; in ancient writings the term was chiefly applied to translucent and brightly coloured stones, particularly chalcedony, but also was applied to the opaque jasper.