amber
- Term Type
Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Preferred Term
amber
- Details
A yellowish, hard, glassy, translucent fossil tree resin found in largest deposits on the Baltic coast and dating 40-60 million years old. Types of amber are classified by location, including Baltic amber (succinite), Rumanian (rumanite), Sicilian (simetite), Burmese amber (burmite), and others. Amber is composed of complex mixtures of oxidized and polymerized resin acids and resin alcohols. It has been gathered or mined since Paleolithic times. It is easy to carve and was often used in its natural state for jewelry, beads, amulets, and small vessels. It was also used as an ingredient in paint; dark color oil and amber varnishes are made by dissolving melted amber in amber oil, turpentine oil, or a drying oil. It develops an electrical charge when rubbed with a cloth. It is also valued because very ancient insects and plants may be preserved in the amber.
- Variations
amber (fossil resin)
ambre
rav
Bernstein
ambra
barnsteen
âmbar
bärnsten