Glyptic Art The art of gem carving and engraving originated in the bead-making and lapidary industries of the ancient cultures of Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley Civilization of South Asia. The long tradition of this ancient craft flourished and spread throughout the ancient world, where the ornamental and practical functions of sealstones, amulets and cameo carvings were important in many aspects of daily life. Later, in Greek, Etruscan and Roman glyptic, gem cutters achieved unparalleled virtuosity in the technological and artistic mastery of their craft—engraving exquisitely detailed subjects and expressive, yet refined compositions in hard stones.

Archaeogemology "Smaragdus Mons" in Egypt's eastern Desert is a group of ancient mining sites systematically exploited by the Romans beginning about 50 BC. The Egyptian deposits are the world's oldest known emerald mines, and they provide the most extensive evidence of gem mining industry anywhere in the ancient world. Although other sources of emeralds lay within the ambit of the empires of Classical antiquity, neither archaeological evidence nor analytical provenancing can show a definite association with other localities. However, to date, scientific analyses have not excluded them either, because emeralds from some different sources, including Egypt, have similar chemistry and physical properties.

On Gemstones An inter-disciplinary reference book of gemological and analytical studies on engraved gems from seven international museum collections and essays by nine contributors—specialists in art conservation, archaeology, art history, gemology and mineralogy. The photographs are perhaps the most visually informative and beautiful images ever produced for a book about ancient gems, with principal photography by Harold and Erica Van Pelt. The photomicrographs by John Koivula offer the first glimpses into the internal world of ancient gemstones and what they can reveal about their identity, origin and journey from antiquity to the present day. Forthcoming, summer 2010.

Gemstone Inclusions Internal features in gemstones provide physical evidence that enable gemologists to identify the gem host, detect an intentional treatment and sometimes determine its geological origin. In archaeogemology, inclusions sometimes can corroborate ancient texts describing treatment recipes used by ancient lapidaries and attest to origins for which other evidence is scant or tenuous. Shown here, a zircon inclusion surrounded by a tension halo in an ancient almandine intaglio. Zircons are common guest inclusions in almandine. Intaglio, 2nd century BC Hellenistic, J. Paul Getty Museum, 81.AN.76.54. Photomicrograph by John Koivula.

The John Sinkankas Symposium Honoring one of the most distinguished and influential figures in gemology and mineralogy, The John Sinkankas Symposium is an annual one-day event featuring presentations by noted specialists in diverse gem-related disciplines or occupations. Every year the theme of the Symposium highlights a different gemstone for which speakers present talks on a wide range of topics, including the gem's history and lore, mineralogy and crystallography, color science, inclusions, sources and deposits, carving and cutting, and photography. The theme for the 2010 eighth annual Sinkankas Symposium is feldspar.