Carnelian

Carnelian in Ancient Egypt


 * Egyptian Name:**

//Herset// ("Sadness")

Also called Sard, some of the earliest known items of Egyptian jewelry, dated to the Predynastic period, were made from carnelian. Carnelian is an orange-red, brown-red, or yellow form of quartz. It ranges from translucent to opaque in color. Carnelian was used in ornamental objects and jewelry, and as inlays for furniture and coffins. Carnelian, as with other red-hued minerals, symbolized fire and blood, strength and power. Red could symbolize the hostile desert or the uncontrollable natural forces. Carnelian was also associated with fury, passion or anger, and violence.

The Egyptians held the belief that this gem would assist in a safe passage to the afterlife and held special powers there - carnelian amulets were worn by the deceased and many artifacts created from the gem are commonly found in tombs. According to the Book of the Dead, carnelian is associated with the brilliant redness of the rising sun, a symbol of rebirth. In mythology, the god Sobek had a temple made of carnelian. Because of its association with the dead, carnelian eventually came to be considered an ill-omened stone - its name, //herset//, meant "sadness."

Gems and Stones