Libyan Glass - Formation from Extraterrestrial Forces - Amazing Material Once again, the owner of All That Glitters has spent considerable time viewing and choosing unusual and unique items that can be found on our planet. In this case, natural glass found mysteriously in the deserts in the vicinity of Egypt. Libyan Desert Glass is a natural glass composed of nearly pure silica (98 wt %), the purest natural glass in the world, giving the the glass some remarkable properties. This particular glass can be heated to 1700° C before it begins to melt. This is over 500∞C higher than other natural glasses. It can be dropped into water when red hot and it will not disintegrate - wow, that is something! Some of this glass has inclusions such as bubbles as well as spheres of cristobalite (see our examples below) which forms in glass at high temperatures. The glass can be cloudy due to thousands of bubbles or gem quality. We have chosen the pieces below because of color, clarity, unique shapes, frosting, inclusions, etc. It is believed that Libyan Desert Glass was formed 29 million years ago, when an asteroid or comet hit the surface creating conditions similar to an atomic bomb, liquefying and creating plasma from the desert sand. One of King Tutankhamunís jeweled breastplates contained a carved scarab which was recently believe to be a piece of this unique glass. It was later determined to be made of Libyan Desert Glass, which makes sense since this material was probably traded and coveted for it's beauty and mysterious nature. The meteorite crater that is believed to have created this glass is thought to have been discovered. | |
A | B |
A - Libyan Glass, a fine example of this material 145.45CTS (vk-10-01a) $80 | |
B - Libyan Glass, great color and shape, with some pebbles attached 65.20CTS (vk10-01b) $100 |
A | B |
A - Libyan Glass, nice naturally frosted piece with good shape 75.95CTS (vk-10-01c) $80 | |
B - Libyan Glass , large piece, chunky 460.20CTS (vk-10-01d) $100 |
Libyan Glass, wonderful all around in color, shape, natural markings on the outside and a few pebbles still attached and adding color! (vk-10-01e) $120 |
This beautiful Bronze Thai Buddha Head came from one of the capitals of Thailand (Sukothai) back in the early part of the 1800s. It would have been in a shrine in a wealthy home owner or possibly in a temple. It is quite common to find just heads of statues because it was a common practice to cover solid gold buddha statues with other common material, thus hiding the fact that the statue was gold from those who might be invading the area from neighboring countries. The heads were removed to verify that it was not gold beneath! This piece measures approximately 4" from the bottom to the top of the head. (tem-10-01) $2,100 |
Terra Cotta Head, Tolita-Tumarco C, 500 BC/AD; La Tolita, Ecuador. The head measures approximately 2.5" from the top to the bottom. Just a beautiful piece that we could not pass up. Custom stand is included in sale. (prmgns-10-01) $875 |
This nice piece came from a dealer in Belgium that we have dealt with for decades. As can be seen in the above label, it is Aztec, from Coatlinchan and looks as if it found its way into a collection/museum back in 1955. We haven't had an Aztec piece in the past, so wanted to offer this to our customers to collect antiquities. (prmgns-10-02) $875 |
Note: Magnification and bright lighting is required to photograph gemstones. Some inclusions may be visible under these circumstances. You are viewing photographs as if you were using a loupe or microscope - not your unaided eye. Under normal conditions, these inclusions may not be visible.
Not responsible for mismatches of prices, photos, stocknumbers, etc.
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