Large collections of hardstone vases are rare. The one housed at the Louvre, known as the “gemmes de la Couronne”, comes from the incomparable collection of Louis XIV and remains to this day one of the last examples of a collection built by the driving passion of a single person. The studies presented in this book examine in turn the main periods of vase creation, the major production centers during the Renaissance, the gold or silver-plate mounts that showcased the vases and the large ancient collections, in addition to 19th-century forgeries.