Published Piece: Historic Carved Black Opal together with the book "The Story of the Gems"
Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia
Carved with a minutely detailed snake entwining the base of the stone, this elongated cabochon has predominantly brilliant broad flash reds, as well as green, blues and yellows. A unique and historic stone, it must surely have figured prominently and been exhibited in the Morgan Gem Collection—a notable portion of the Gem and Mineral collection of the American Museum of Natural History in New York. It was pictured in the delicately rendered watercolor frontispiece of The Story of the Gems: A Popular Handbook, by Herbert P. Whitlock, Curator of Minerals and Gems, American Museum of Natural History, published 1940; the opal is offered together with a copy of the aforementioned book. (2)
Weighing approximately 29.23 carats and measuring 38.0 x 15.0 x 8.0 mm
Carved with a minutely detailed snake entwining the base of the stone, this elongated cabochon has predominantly brilliant broad flash reds, as well as green, blues and yellows. A unique and historic stone, it must surely have figured prominently and been exhibited in the Morgan Gem Collection—a notable portion of the Gem and Mineral collection of the American Museum of Natural History in New York. It was pictured in the delicately rendered watercolor frontispiece of The Story of the Gems: A Popular Handbook, by Herbert P. Whitlock, Curator of Minerals and Gems, American Museum of Natural History, published 1940; the opal is offered together with a copy of the aforementioned book. (2)
Weighing approximately 29.23 carats and measuring 38.0 x 15.0 x 8.0 mm
Sold for
US$ 28,060
inc. premium
Footnotes
- Accompanied by a copy of the book, "The Story of the Gems", by Herbert P. Whitlock, 1940.
Provenance: Property de-accessioned by the American Museum of Natural History
Lot heading
Provenance: Property de-accessioned by the American Museum of Natural History
Category: Natural History
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