Mesoamerican (I think) Book Ends | ||
| Celiene's loves1509 of 1838 |  |  |
LovelyPat loves this.
SEAN68 loves this.
Destiny.Jennifer.g. loves this.
Efesgirl loves this.
aura loves this.
PhilDMorris loves this.
racer4four loves this.
vetraio50 loves this.Windwalker loves this.
Celiene loves this.NevadaBlades loves this.
welzebub loves this.Create a Show & TellReport as inappropriate
Posted 9 years ago
HalloweenG…
(16 items)
I have had these for a long time and have always loved them.
However, I'm not exactly certain where they were crafted, so Mesoamerican is my best guess.
Perhaps someone knows??
Thanks!
Create an account or login in order to post a comment.
These are absolutely fabulous!!
I know, right! Timeless.
Had fun shooting them too. Spent about half hour doing that with a single light bulb, bounced off the ceiling and long-ish exposures.
Toltec souvenirs? I have no clue, but they are neat. :)
Fantastic photos and really do these justice.
Are they from a type of alabaster or another stone?
A lot of these type of pieces are carved from soapstone, though from picture it looks like it may be alabaster.
Thanks for the photo kudos. I appreciate that.
When putting items on eBay I have found good photos help.
I thought the bookends were onyx but am not certain.
Appreciate the comments.
I believe Onyx is actually correct. They appear to be White Onyx. The finish on Alabaster is generally more of a soft matte finish, and not glossy like these are.
Thanks welzebub!
Interesting. Yes, it's Meso-American. Here is one very similar, it's from the Mayan ruins of Uxmal:
http://www.mesoweb.com/es/recursos/MNA/51.html
It can be a copy of a Toltec statue too, they had a very big influence on the Mayan civilisation - Toltecs invaded the Mayan cities in the 10th century.
Thank you Marta!
This was along the lines of what I had guessed but the example you provided really affirms it.
Mystery solved!!
Nice work Martika, I appreciate that very much indeed.
JT
These are stunning!!
You are welcome! :)
Hi again. I just have a remark about the material. This isn't onyx. The real onyx is much harder, 7 on Mohs scale and more rare. It would be a real job to carve such a detailed work from onyx like your pieces. I believe PhilMorris is right - your carvings are probably made from soapstone, marble or alabaster - from some kind of soft stone. The majority of things sold as onyx in reality is not onyx, it is just a wrong labelling. Here you can read more about it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onyx
Well alright! Thank you again, Martika for your generosity and expertise.
I really appreciate it.
J
Dear JT, I'm not an expert, only an enthusiast.
Honest and modest too, I might add. Lol!
Thanks again my fine lady.