Editing Agate (section)

== Uses ==
Agate has long been popular as a [[gemstone]] in [[jewelery]] such as [[pins]], [[brooch]]es, [[necklaces]], [[earrings]], and [[bracelets]]. Agates have also historically been used in the art of [[hardstone carving]] to make knives, [[inkstand]]s, [[seal (emblem)|seals]], [[marbles]], and other objects. Today, they are still used to make beads, decorative displays, carvings, and [[cabochons]], as well as face-polished and tumble-polished specimens of varying size and origin. Agate collecting is a popular hobby, and agate specimens can be found in numerous gift shops, museums, galleries, and private collections.<ref name="pabian" />{{rp|pp=159–168}}

Industrial uses of agate exploit its hardness, ability to retain a highly polished surface finish and resistance to chemical attack. Historically, it was used to make bearings for highly accurate [[laboratory balance]]s and [[Mortar and pestle|mortars and pestles]] to crush and mix chemicals. During the [[Second World War]], black agate beads mined from [[Queensland, Australia]] were used in the turn and bank indicators of military aircraft.<ref name="pabian" />{{rp|pp=168–169}}

Agates, particularly moss agates, were first used during the [[Stone Age]] to make tools such as arrow and spear points, needles, and hide scrapers. Artefacts from as early as 7000 BCE have been found in [[Mongolia]], and the [[Natufian]] people of the [[Levant]] are known to have made knives and arrowheads from moss agate as early as 10000 BCE. Agate jewelry from [[Sumeria]] has been dated to c. 2500 BCE, and the [[Ancient Egyptians]], [[Mycenaeans]], and [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] all used agate in their jewelry.<ref name="pabian" />{{rp|pp=159–163}} Archaeological recovery at the [[Knossos]] site on [[Crete]] illustrates the role of agates in [[Bronze Age]] [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] culture.<ref>C. Michael Hogan. 2007. [http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/10854/knossos.html#fieldnotes ''Knossos fieldnotes'', Modern Antiquarian] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711201424/http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/10854/knossos.html#fieldnotes |date=2018-07-11 }}</ref> The ornamental use of agate was common in [[ancient Greece]], in assorted [[jewelry]] and in the [[seal stone]]s of Greek warriors.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=7 November 2017 |title=Masterpiece of Greek Art Found in the Griffin Warrior Tomb |url=https://smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/masterpiece-greek-art-found-griffin-warrior-tomb-180967141 |magazine=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]] |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]]}}</ref>

[[Idar-Oberstein]] was a historically important location in Germany that made use of agate on an industrial scale, dating back to c. 1375 CE.<ref name="pabian" />{{rp|p=52}} Originally, locally found agates were used to make all types of objects for the European market, but it became a globalized business around the turn of the 20th century. Idar-Oberstein began to import large quantities of agate from Brazil, as ship's ballast. Making use of a variety of proprietary chemical processes, they produced colored beads that were sold around the globe.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.farlang.com/art/2007-04-15.7721093142 |title=Background Article on Idar Oberstein |access-date=2008-11-27 |archive-date=2008-12-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081223064824/http://www.farlang.com/art/2007-04-15.7721093142 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="130px">
File:Tumbled agate and jasper.jpg|A {{convert|15|lb|kg|abbr=on|order=flip}} barrel full of tumble-polished agate and [[jasper]]
File:Zegelring in goud met intaglio met portret van Commodus in nicolo, 180 tot 200 NC, vindplaats- Tongeren, de Schaetzengaarde 22, 1998, losse vondst (mogelijk goudschat), collectie Gallo-Romeins Museum Tongeren, GRM 1892.jpg|Gold Roman signet ring with portrait of emperor [[Commodus]] in niccolo agate, 180-200 CE, found in Tongeren, [[Gallo-Roman Museum, Tongeren|Gallo-Roman Museum (Tongeren)]]
File:Byzantine - The "Rubens Vase" - Walters 42562.jpg|The "[[Rubens Vase]]" ([[Byzantine Empire]]). Carved in high relief from a single piece of agate, most likely created in an imperial workshop for a Byzantine emperor.
File:Victorian banded agate ear rings.jpg|Victorian banded agate earrings
File:Maryland Agate.jpg|Patuxent River stone from Maryland — cut and illuminated from behind as a [[nightlight]]
File:唐-玛瑙兽首杯.jpg|Agate [[drinking horn]], [[Tang dynasty]]
</gallery>