Emeralds, elephants and Eric the opalised fossil: the 10 greatest stones in art

Stones have shaped culture for as long as culture has existed. Their uncanny shape has led us to tell stories – of trolls disguised as boulders, of maidens cursed for dancing on the sabbath, of a snake-haired woman whose eyes petrified. They have provided us with tools, from axe heads to the rare minerals used in camera phones. And they have served as signifiers of power and wealth, often derived in turn from mines and the trade routes that distribute their riches.

We think of stone as something stable and unmoving, but that’s just a matter of the timescale by which you look at things. My new book, Lapidarium: The Secret Lives of Stones, contains 60 stories, each about a different stone. Here are 10 memorable rocks that roll across its pages …

Ruby

Gold Salamander (mid-16th century), Ulster Museum

In 1967 underwater archaeologist Robert Sténuit led an that went down in 1588. Sténuit’s team found gold, coins and guns – but also a great quantity of jewellery. The Girona had been part of the Spanish Armada, and had the invasion gone to plan, the gems would have shone from the conquerors’ robes as they sailed into London in triumph. This ruby pendant was once an emblem of Spain’s power and reach. The salamander design is inspired by the axolotl – an amphibian creature venerated by the Aztecs – while the rubies come from Burma. Rubies were believed to glow with inner light, and salamanders to live in fire: an auspicious pairing for a talisman worn into battle.