Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to iron(III) inclusions. Jasper breaks with a smooth surface and is used for ornamentation or as a gemstone. It can be highly polished and is used for items such as vases, seals, and snuff boxes. The density of jasper is typically 2.5 to 2.9 g/cm<sup>3</sup>. Jaspillite is a banded-iron-formation rock that often has distinctive bands of jasper.
Etymology and history
upright|thumb|Movable Egyptian ring in green jasper and gold, from 664 to 322 BC or later (Late Period), the [[Walters Art Museum]]
thumb|upright|left|[[Amulet of scarlet jasper, provenance unknown, Royal Pump Room, Harrogate]]
thumb|upright|left|[[Relief|Low-relief sphinx pendant, red jasper, pearl and enamel, French, circa 1870]]
The name means "spotted or speckled stone," and is derived via Old French (variant of Anglo-Norman jaspe) and Latin (nom. ) from Greek iaspis (feminine noun), from an Afroasiatic language (cf. Hebrew ' , Akkadian yashupu). This Semitic etymology is believed to be unrelated to that of the English given name Jasper, which is of Persian origin,