murrhine
/ˈmɜraɪn/
adjective
- Relating to or made of a fine, semi-precious stone (often fluorspar or agate) used in ancient Roman luxury vessels.
- Collectors prize murrhine vases for their translucent, layered colors.
- Ancient murrhine cups were considered more valuable than gold.
- The museum displayed a murrhine bowl that once held wine for Roman emperors.
noun
- A material, especially a type of fluorspar or agate, used for making decorative vessels in antiquity.
- Pliny the Elder wrote about the rarity of murrhine in his natural history.
- Scholars debate whether murrhine was a mineral or a type of glass.
- The artisan carved the goblet from a block of murrhine.