Pair of Malachite Glass Ring Dishes . High style. Early 20th century. 

Size: 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 in. 

#4787 . 

Malachite is a copper carbonate hydroxide mineral, an opaque, green-banded monoclinic crystal whose name derives from a Latin word meaning “mallow-green stone.” The earliest malachite mines that have been identified were found near the Isthmus of Suez dating to around 4000 BC, although it was likely being found earlier than that, as it commonly appeared near or entwined with copper deposits. Its stunning green color made it as popular as turquoise and jade throughout the ancient world for jewelry, and it was ground down and used as a pigment in green paints from antiquity up until the beginning of the 19th Century. The synthetic color verditer, along with slightly similar greens, have replaced this usage entirely. Malachite was commonly used in furniture and large decorations as well, with large collections displaying its diverse use in the Malachite Room of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia, as well as the Malachite Room of the Castillo de Chapultepec in Mexico City. In the time of Tsar Nicolas I decorative pieces with malachite were among the most popular diplomatic gifts. It was used in China as far back as the Eastern Zhou period, and was often held as a talisman by Spanish and French peasants as late as the 17th Century, who believed it helped to improve sleep and ward off lightning and contagious diseases.