COOL VINTAGE 1960S BOXED SHONA RHODESIA ROCK SPECIMEN COLLECTION

COOL, VINTAGE (CIRCA 1960S) SHONA RHODESIA ROCK SPECIMEN COLLECTION. BOXED AND LABELLED WITH NAME IN OLD TYPEWRITER FONT PASTED ON INSIDE OF COVER. THESE STONES ARE INDIGENOUS TO ZIMBABWE (OLD SOUTHERN RHODESIA) AND MOST USED BY THE ARTISTS EVERY DAY IN MAKING THEIR SCULPTURES.
 
There is a long standing tradition of sculpture in what is now Zimbabwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia), stone carvings dating from the 15th century were seen in Great Zimbabwe, an excavated temple near Bulawayo. Out of all the nations in Africa, the large varieties and abundant supplies of rock formations present throughout the Zimbabwe landscape provide artists with a medium for sculpture and carvings unique to their country. Much of the stone used by Shona artists is quarried in areas which are adjacent or quite near the villages where the work is created. Often the land on which the stone is found is owned by the village or the local artists.
 
The artists use stone such as Serpentine (somewhat old, having been formed about 2.6 billion years ago), with more than 200 color variations. The hardest and darkest of the Serpentine varieties is black, commonly known as Springstone or Africa stone. Then we get Leopard Rock which is a hard and unusual variety of greenish Serpentine. It comes from a few small mines in Nyanga, eastern Zimbabwe, and gets its name from the black spots on a pale background.
 
Less seen is Lepidolite, with its beautiful pale mauve coloration; Unakite (Unakite is an altered granite rock composed of pink feldspar, green epidote, and generally colorless quartz. It is a beautiful gemstone. It is found in Zimbabwe and the Beitbridge area where the gneis has been replaced by epidote) and the very hard Verdite, found mostly in darker shades of green but with other variations as well.

The box contain 20 rock specimens:
1. Aventurine 2. Pink Dolomite
3. Leopard Rock (Leopard rock is a hard and unusual variety of greenish Serpentine. It comes from a few small mines in Nyanga, eastern Zimbabwe, and gets its name from the black spots on a pale background.)
4. Leopidolite (Lepidolite is a rare lilac coloured mineral belonging to the mica family. Lepidolite also displays bright sparkling flecks which twinkle like stars and glow like glitter, owing to the Lepidolite Mica composition of the stone.)
5. Verdite 6. Limestone (Limestone rich in organic matter will be darker. Some limestone is even such a dark grey it appears nearly black.)
7. Iron Pyrites 8. Dolomite 9. Zebra Jasper 10. Black Serpentine
11. Mauve Stone (literally means purple stone) 12. Red Jasper (Banded Jasper)
13. Rose Quartz 14. Magnesite 15. Yellow Unikite 16. Red Unikite
17. Calcrete (conglomerate in which the particles have been cemented together by the precipitation of mineral matter in their interstitial spaces. The cement is usually calcium carbonate);
18. Butter-Chete (Yes, said 'sheet' It looks a bit like butter, and feels greasy too!]
19. Himatite 20. Granite Stone
 
NOTE I HAVE ALSO TWO VINTAGE ROCK AND MINERAL COLLECTIONS (ONE WITH CUTE MINI SIZED EGGS) FROM THE 1970S ON AUCTION THIS WEEK. ALSO THREE MALACHITE EGGS AND SOME OTHER BANDED ROCK EGGS INCLUDING ONE EGG MADE FROM BONE.
 
SIZE: 14CM WIDE 11CM DEEP 2,5CM HIGH
 
CONDITION: COMPLETE. SOME SMALL ROUND LABELS MISSING. I HAVE REAARANGED IN CORRECT ORDER TO MATCH COVER DESCRIPTION  NOTE PHOTO ARRANGEMENT WILL DIFFER SLIGHTLY.
 
PLEASE ALSO SEE MY OTHER ITEMS LISTED. I HAVE VARIOUS ROCKS AND MINERAL COLLECTIONS ON AUCTION THIS WEEK.THE URL UNDERNEATH AND PASTE INTO GOOGLE AND IT WILL TAKE YOU DIRECTLY TO ALL MY LISTINGS THIS WEEK. NOTE ALL MY AUCTIONS END AT 22H30 SO IT IS ADVISABLE TO PUT IN AN AUTOMATIC BID (HIGHEST PRICE YOU ARE WILLING TO PAY) EARLY.
https://www.bidorbuy.co.za/seller/3685641/ErnRex1545