Post subject: Supposedly old agate with an animal on the stone
Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2022 8:35 am
Gemology Online Veteran
Joined: Wed Dec 16, 2009 5:03 am Posts: 921 Location: Paris
I recently saw on Etsy this strange Agate with an animal shape I don't think it's natural... Is it glass? As the stone is set in a medallion, the back is not accessible for a more precise approach... It's quite amazing !
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Post subject: Re: Supposedly old agate with an animal on the stone
Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2022 9:48 am
Gold Member
Joined: Mon May 26, 2014 9:42 pm Posts: 1033
I think the agate is natural, but the animal imprint I don't believe is natural. I believe a chemical was used to create the animal, either with a stencil or the inverse.
Sugar has been used to dye agates this color at least since the classical era, thogh there are other methods now. The outline is definitely unnatural, note how imthe outline of the undyed zone crosses the bands and doesn't follow any logical zones of differential porosity (while the colored zone only has colors in some more porous bands).
Post subject: Re: Supposedly old agate with an animal on the stone
Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2022 1:28 pm
Site Admin
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:22 pm Posts: 21602 Location: San Francisco
Without seeing it in person, this is a blind speculation. 2 pieces bonded together? One thin and translucent shaped like an animal, the backing, a dyed agate. A doublet of sorts.
Post subject: Re: Supposedly old agate with an animal on the stone
Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2022 5:11 pm
Valued Contributor
Joined: Fri Dec 25, 2015 8:31 pm Posts: 276
Barbra Voltaire, FGG wrote:
Without seeing it in person, this is a blind speculation. 2 pieces bonded together? One thin and translucent shaped like an animal, the backing, a dyed agate. A doublet of sorts.
The outline definitely resembles a masking technique, something waterproof was painted over the agate before the dyeing process. There's even colour infiltration making the borders less sharp where the porous layers occur, notably on the legs.
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