Hardstone refers to semi-precious stones like lapis lazuli, agate and carnelian. It was a very popular material within Western Asiatic jewellery as well as in architectural decorations such as mosaics.
Jewellery is an art form which is considered to be one of the oldest within our history. The western Asiatic provides us with many interesting and unique jewellery patterns, with gemstones being inlayed with gold, and metals being moulded into elaborate patterns shows how sophisticated the Western Asiatic jewellery makers were. The civilisations within the Near East seemed to favour hard-stone carvings within their jewellery, with the gemstone agate, lapis lazuli and carnelian being the most popular stones of choice for ancient wearers.
For more information on how gemstones were used in ancient jewellery, please see our blog post: The History and Mythology go Gemstones in Ancient Jewellery.
