The Digital Ark: Early Modern Collections of Curiosities in England and Scotland, 1580-1700
Oval Garnet [ARK00167]
Attached People: Collector (major) - Bargrave, John (1610-1680)Location(s): Current location at - Canterbury Cathedral Library and Archives (Library and/or Archive) -> Canterbury Cathedral (Institution)
Annotation:[Canterbury Catalog: Oval, convex garnet (CANCA-B/104a), now fragmented and cast of the above (CANCA-B/104b). Nude girl with right arm raised. Possibly Menthe; in Greek mythology, Minthe (also Menthe, Mentha, Mintho); Greek was a naiad associated with the river Cocytus. She was dazzled by Hades' golden chariot and would have been seduced by him had not Queen Persephone intervened and metamorphosed Minthe into the pungently sweet-smelling mint, which some call hedyosmus. The garnet group includes a group of minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. Garnets are most often seen in red, but are available in a wide variety of colours spanning the entire spectrum. Theword "garnet" comes from the Latin granatus ("grain"), possibly a reference to the Punica granatum ("pomegranate"), a plant with red seeds similar in shape, size, and colour to some garnet crystals.] (approx 1st cent AD)