Posted 7 years ago
AnythingOb…
(1778 items)
Here are two little kinda 'matching' polished stone paperweights that came (separately) from the thrift store. I think they are made of onyx, (corrections welcomed?!!) both have some beautiful 'graining' no matter what kind of rock they are. Both are basically 1-5/8" cubes, one having also had its 'corners' cut off resulting in a pattern of squares and triangles. The true cube shaped one has the sticky-remains of a small label (I think?) on one side, neither have any other markings.
I don't have any idea of how old they are, who made them, or where -- I don't imagine they're terribly old or unusual in any way either...they're just kinda pretty...
;-) :-) :-)
Looks like onyx to me. I could not even begin to tell how old or where from, these are. (What kind of English was that?) haha I see residuals from a sticker on the one to the right, all that says is that they were sold somewhere... but yes, I would say onyx.
This is commonly called, & labeled, as onyx, but my gemstone guide informs me that the proper common name is onyx marble. Onyx is a much abused word these days; the root is from the Greek for 'fingernail'. A sardonyx cameo is one that has a background layer of the deep reddish brown color of chalcedony known as sard (lighter, redder colors are called cornelian/carnelian) & the carved figure or scene in white, which can be pared down in places to the thickness of a fingernail, allowing some of the color of the dark under layer to show through.
A lot of decorative items, particularly eggs, in this onyx marble were on the market in the early 70s, coming from Italy. Think pieces from Pakistan began to turn up. My best guess at the country of origin for these simply cut pieces is Mexico.
I hadn't checked back on this post for awhile until noticing another similar paperweight that hor2cultcha had posted earlier, which popped up on the 'all activity' page again today.
THANKS SO VERY MUCH to shareurpassion, valentino97, and cameosleuth for your kind and informative comments -- and to fortapache, blunderbuss2, and aura for stopping by and hitting that <love it> button!! :-) :-) :-)