The Leyden and Stockholm Papyri - University of Cincinnati

42. Preparation of Emerald
Mix 1 part of roasted copper (and) 2 parts of verdigris with honey
and place it upon the ashes. Let it cook and place the crystal in it.
43. Another (Preparation)
Mix l/2 a drachma of copper green, an equal quantity of Armenian
blue, 1/2 a cup of the urine of an uncorrupted youth, two-thirds of
the fluid of a steer's gall, and put into it the stones weighing 1/12 of
a drachma each. Place the cover upon the vessel, lute the cover
with clay, and heat for 6 hours with a gentle fire of hard olive
wood. However provided that this sign appears – (namely) that the
cover becomes green – then heat no further but let the stones cool
down, lift them out and you will find that they have become emeralds.
The stones are of crystal. If crystal is boiled in castor oil it
becomes black.
Armenian blue was probably some kind of a copper mineral or an
oxidation product of the same.
44. Preparation of Amethyst
Corrode the stones beforehand with three times as much alum as
stone. Cook them in it until it boils thrice, and let them cool down.
Take and soften krimnos with vinegar. Then take and boil the
stones in it as long as you like.
The substance “krimnos” is frequently mentioned in these recipes.
It was evidently a red dyestuff, but its exact source and nature is
unknown to us.
45. Preparation of Chrysolite
THE STOCKHOLM PAPYRUS
Heat crystal, dip it in liquid pitch and cedar oil, and it will thence
become chrysolite.
- 59 -