Small Carved and Polished Agate Dish. Perfect for holding rings or other small jewelry pieces. 

Size: 2 1/2 x 1 3/4 x 1 3/4 in. 

Agate is the banded variety of chalcedony which comes in a wide variety of colors. Primarily formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks, the ornamental use of agate was common in Ancient Greece in assorted jewelry and the seal stones of Greek warriors, while bead necklaces with pierced and polished agate date back to the 3rd Millennium BC in the Indus Valley civilization. The stone was given its name by Theophrastus, a Greek philosopher and naturalist, who discovered the stone along the shore line of the Dirillo River in Sicily in the 4th Century BC. Agate minerals have the tendency to form on or within pre-existing rocks, creating difficulties in accurately determining their time of formation. It is one of the most common materials used in the art of hardstone carving, and modern industrial uses of agate exploit its hardness, ability to retain a highly polished surface finish, and resistance to chemical attack. It has traditionally been used to make knife-edge bearings for laboratory balances and precision pendulums, and sometimes to make mortars and pestles to crush and mix chemicals.

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