VARIETY OF AMBER.


There is a variety of amber, of the opacity of white wax, with a
very slight yellowish tinge. It is found intermixed with yellow
amber, in thin bands of some breadth. When the magnificent pile of
buildings called Fonthill Abbey was exhibited to the public, before
the sale of its curious and costly furniture, it contained an amber
cabinet, as beautiful in workmanship as material. It was
quadrangular, and about fifteen inches by twelve at the base,
standing on four legs, that raised it about half an inch from its
pedestal. It was pyramidal in form, about fourteen inches high, and
divided into eleven stages. These were separated by a ledge of
yellow amber, about one-eighth of an inch in thickness, projecting a
little over the under stage, like a cornice. The front of each stage
was ornamented with recumbent figures in white amber, in relief.
Some parts were at least one-eighth of an inch in thickness. The
effect was much like that of the white figures on the purple ground
of the well-known Portland Vase. Each stage had the appearance of
opening as a drawer. The top was flat, and the whole of the yellow
amber beautifully transparent.




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