Antiquity was defined by glyptic art (Cameos and Intaglios) The Romans and Greeks preferred to use onyx blocks with straight and parallel strata. Around 200 BC, General Scipio Africanus brought the first sardonyx to Rome and it has been in high demand since. Onyx, or sardonyx, is frequently named memphite. Scientists and historians are also baffled by the ‘onyx marble’.
It is almost certain that Mithridates’s vases were in alabaster.
This fragrant resin was possibly used for murrhine vases or onyx murrha as stipulated in ancient stories. This alabaster can be used to craft containers used to preserve precious ointments and perfumed balms such as benzoin or myrrh. Their material is not completely certain, since onyx can also be designated alabaster, a type of white marble. Pompey brought these beautiful vases back to Rome after his victory. According to Appian, a Greek historian, the King of Pontus (located in the North of present-day Turkey), Mithridates the Great (in around the year 100 BC), had two thousand onyx and gold vases in his possession. The Cabinet des médailles today features an old Phoenician seal dating from 780 BC, depicting the sun god child Nefertum surrounded by beautiful lotus flowers. Romans crafted it into signet rings engraved with various symbols. Funeral temples also concealed pearl earrings in onyx. In Abydos, Egypt, researchers discovered several plates, jars and vases in onyx. Ancient civilisations used onyx in very skilful ways. The colossal size of the crafted onyx blocks always astonishes scientists and historians. The most beautiful came from the Shibam mountain, not far from Mareb, the capital of the Kingdom of Saba (now buried under the sands of Yemen, in the Hadramawt region). In antiquity, onyx originated from Saudi Arabia and India. Out of respect for Queen Victoria’s 40-year mourning period, other colours were formally forbidden. It was only in England during the Victorian period, that onyx had real success, particularly the black variety. It was therefore exported to the unaware, far away from the country’s borders. It was mined by slaves and no one would touch it for fear of attracting evil eye or losing their energy. Onyx was also deemed to reduce sexual desires. For this, they would place it on the woman’s stomach. The Indians and Persians believed that onyx protected them from the evil eye and had the ability to alleviate labour pains during childbirth. In Arab culture, it is called “El Jaza” meaning “sadness”.
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