According to legend, a polished jasper plate adorned the central part of St. Peter's breastplate. Jasper was one of the twelve stones that became the foundation of the city of Jerusalem. Such an attitude towards it is quite understandable, it is enough to remember what word the name of the stone comes from: "jasper" in translation from Greek means "colorful", "bright". The natural color of jasper is unique, which is why for thousands of years it has been appreciated not only by jewelers, but also by architects.
Goddess gift
It would be unfair to mention the role of jasper in legends related only to Christianity. Mankind was familiar with it long before the appearance of this religion, and highly valued the stone for its beauty and a set of useful qualities. Among the archaeological finds dating back to the Paleolithic era are jasper arrowheads. The stone chips were strong and sharp enough for primitive hunters to show interest in jasper and armed with arrows that brought good luck: after all, the color of such a tip resembled the color of blood, which means that the hunt will be fruitful. Approximately the same vein was applied to the manufacture of tools. Belief in the omnipotence of jasper led to the fact that soon they began to make amulets, household items and jewelry from it. While preparing the article, I tried to remember - was there a stone in the world that did not pass through a sieve of esotericism and occultism, a stone,in which you have not seen a panacea for solving problems in some area? On reflection, I came to the conclusion that there is no such stone and never was. Jasper is no exception. One of the legends associated with her originated in Japan. In the Land of the Rising Sun, it was believed that the imperial family was traced back to Ninigi no Mikoto, the grandson of the sun goddess Amaterasu. Before releasing Ninigi to earth, Amaterasu presented him with many gifts, each of which possessed magical powers. Among them was a sword that instills valor and strength in the owner, a mirror that reflects his inner purity and wisdom (and helps to preserve both), and a jasper necklace. The role of the latter was to enhance some of the character traits of its owner, in particular, nobility, love for the human race and generosity. For a god whose mission was carried out among men,each of these traits was irreplaceable. After completing his task on earth (to help the rest of the gods of the Japanese pantheon to reach people and settle among them), Ninigi left Amaterasu's treasures to his descendants. The ruling dynasty passed them down from generation to generation, and it is said that the gifts of the goddess are still kept in the sanctuary of the imperial palace.
Physicians, in great numbers among the ancient Greeks, recommended that their newly born patients wear jasper as a tonic. The same applied to newborn babies: it was believed that the stone protects immature organisms from diseases and evil forces. Hippocrates, based on some of his medical findings, advised people suffering from epilepsy and fever to wear jasper, as he believed that the stone facilitates the course of both diseases. The Romans adopted a lot from the Greeks, including their attitude to jasper: they also turned to this stone for help, but acted a little differently: the name of the patient should be carved on the smooth surface of the mineral, and then “use” jasper for any illness. Still, a panacea.
But the fate of jasper with the advent of Christianity is still different from most of its mineralogical counterparts. The latter most often received the status of "demonic offspring", and the Church tried in every possible way to exclude parishioners from using stones in treatment, sincerely believing that with their help they summon demons and spoil the lives of others. In a word, a solid negative. Jasper was spared this attitude, on the contrary: the stone in the eyes of a believer became the personification of steadfastness and modesty, spirituality, purity of the soul. Naturally, with this attitude, Christians used jasper wherever and whenever possible. Jasper inlays appeared in the decorations of priests, the frames of icons, church utensils and the interior decoration of temples. As a believer, Manuel, one of the Byzantine emperors,once presented the inhabitants of the Athos monastery with a jasper bowl: he believed that water or food consumed from this bowl after sincere prayer would not harm anyone. The bowl was supposed to neutralize the poison that could be contained in the diet of the inhabitants, and to maintain their health during hermitage.
It turned out to be news to me that in Russia no special attention was paid to jasper until the 18th century. The fact is that a large deposit, “material” from which could be used on an industrial scale, was discovered just in the middle of the 18th century. Small pieces of rock that could be found until this time were used to make small crafts such as crosses and tiny icons. The real heyday of jasper began with the development of the Ural deposit, and here already the master carvers were able to show all their remarkable talent, not being limited either in the field of application of the manufactured items, or in their sizes. Jasper lamps and vases, furniture inlaid with stones of various shades appeared and became very popular in the country, and rooms in palaces and houses of noble persons,for the decoration of which the same jasper was used.
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Mikhailo Vasilyevich Lomonosov, among his other interests, devoted a huge amount of time to mineralogy, and proposed to issue a decree in which the country's population would be involved in the collection of various rocks:
Small, and especially peasant children, sometimes in spring and summer, playing along the banks of the rivers, collect various pebbles and, being carried away by their color, collect them in piles, but, having no curiosity, knowing the benefits below, they leave them or throw them into the rivers for fun.
Lomonosov collected information for the book "Russian Mineralogy", in which he sought to provide information about all rocks and minerals in the country. He called jasper one of the main treasures of Russian mineral resources, and equated its importance with the value of amber, crystal and pearls. Pushkin treated jasper with special trepidation: it is known that the poet was a very superstitious person. He chose this particular mineral as one of his many amulets, believed that it was the green jasper bracelet that brought him good luck in love affairs, and therefore did not part with him if he was to meet with charming muses.
Mineral cocktail
Against the background of what was said above about the time of the discovery of the Ural deposit and, accordingly, the beginning of jasper mining in Russia, the information that it is Russia that ranks first in the world in terms of the quality of this mineral and its diversity causes some dissonance. It is in our country that the best deposits are located - in the vicinity of Orsk and Miass, and near Zmeinogorsk. As for the worldwide distribution of jasper deposits, there are practically no restrictions - it is found everywhere, from India and Japan to France, the USA and Germany. But - not that quality.
If you look at jasper from a scientific point of view, then mineralogy defines it as a jewelry, ornamental, decorative stone. The main “composition” is quartz and chalcedony, but due to the presence of impurities in the rock, the color palette of jasper is very large. Basically, its color is determined by oxides of iron and manganese, so green and red stones are most often found. But nature does not tolerate monotony - no mineralogist can predict how many percent, what oxide and what quality will be found in the next stone. Jasper can be light gray, black, blue, brown, yellow, or red. Very rarely a monochromatic stone appears in the world - it is not for nothing that it was called “variegated”, so speckled, striped or spotted specimens are used. However, this does not detract from her beauty in the least. I would also like to note the existence in nature of the so-called landscape jasper. Nature has worked especially hard on this stone: its cut is a full-fledged landscape, and you don't even need to look closely.
Such nuggets belong to one of the conditional groups into which the scientific world has divided this type of mineral - variegated, or spotted jasper. This group is distinguished by a wide variety of patterns and structures: spots or concentric rings, less often a “brocade” or “chintz” pattern. Monochromatic minerals with a large percentage of granite in their composition are distinguished as the next conditional group: here there are red-gray, gray-blue, coffee, gray-green and brown-red stones. Another part of the mineral family is banded or ribbon stones. Their appearance can be predicted by the name: layers of different thicknesses and colors alternate, forming a unique pattern on the cut. This group is dominated by green, but often pink, yellow and dark red "ribbons".
Jasper in lithotherapy
In addition to its usual use in jewelry and architecture, jasper is not the last in stone healing. Since the time of Hippocrates (and maybe even earlier), healers believed that one of the properties of jasper is to help the body recuperate, renew, get rid of the negative influences of the surrounding world and remove toxins. Even Avicenna, many of whose works saved the lives of more than one person in their time, believed in the miraculous properties of jasper and always carried it with him: the Arab doctor believed that it would prevent intestinal diseases, therefore he fixed the stone on clothes, in the area of the body that needed protection.
It should be noted here that the “sphere of action” of jasper is directly related to its color. Red stones increase blood pressure, improve the functioning of the cardiovascular system, treat “female” diseases and stop bleeding. Greens are more related to mental health, normalizing the wearer's sleep and pulling him out of lingering depression. Blue or blue veins on the jasper indicate that this specimen will be a faithful assistant in the treatment of the genitourinary, respiratory and visual systems, and the orange stone will help tone the body and restore an attractive, fresh appearance.
Occultists love jasper for its ability to accumulate positive energy, transferring it to the wearer, and to draw out negative energy from him. It is noteworthy that much depends on the shape of the stone: a jasper ball will serve as a battery, and an elongated polished piece of mineral will serve as a magnet.
Previously, the parents of careless schoolchildren tried to slip the cherished pebble under the child's pillow. It was believed that if a lazy student slept in this position for at least one night, then in the morning an irresistible craving for knowledge would wake up in him. I would like to check, to be honest - I will not say that it is careless, but sometimes information is not absorbed as quickly as we would like. And jasper just contributes to the activation of the brain, therefore it is considered an amulet for travelers, researchers, and in general any person whose life is connected with science. In addition, the mineral helps to establish stronger ties with the outside world: to strengthen friendship or family relationships, to establish normal, lively communication with colleagues.
A jasper product, be it a box or a vase, will become an indoor source of miracles if you put it in a conspicuous place: it will help to correct the financial situation and protect against quarrels.
The work of man's hands
They say that the master's work is afraid. I wonder if the jasper was afraid of the touch of the carver, whose task was to make another luxury item? Taking into account the fact that there are enough shades of jasper for a cart and a small cart, it is not surprising that it has been used as an ornamental and finishing material since the time of Tsar Pea.
In the Middle Ages, jasper was one of the most valuable trophies obtained during the war, and noble dignitaries and high-ranking representatives of the Church did not disdain to accept it as a gift. The latter, having examined the jasper more closely, immediately brought their "evidence base" under it: they say, red jasper personifies the blood of Christ, green - pious thoughts, and yellow-brown - absolution. Cleverly, you can't argue.
The invention of stone cutting machines somewhat simplified (and at the same time complicated) the life of stone cutters. The incredible reserves of Ural jasper encouraged domestic craftsmen to create things of amazing beauty, and floor vases are far from the most complex creations of their hands. The solid mineral was ideal for the manufacture of cladding, which was used in the decoration of columns and halls, as well as fireplaces and statues, furniture parts (such as tabletops) and a huge number of interior items designed to decorate a particular room: candlesticks, dishes, picture frames and mirrors, boxes and much more!
So that you can imagine the scale of the products that our craftsmen created, I will give as an example the Big Kolyvan Vase. Sometimes she is called “the queen of vases,” and quite rightly: this beauty of green-wavy jasper is the largest vase in the world. The weight of the whopper is 19 tons, the outer diameter is just over five meters. When the “girl” was brought to the Hermitage, she had to wait four years before the vase took its place in the museum's exposition. The fact is that during this time the craftsmen erected a separate foundation for the jasper "queen", and then they had to dismantle the wall in order to deliver it to the "place of worship" - the vase simply did not pass through the door of the museum.
