Matching bottles to raw minerals

[Wattana]

Here is a new match for the New Year. It's a double whammy – matching raw materials for both bottle AND stopper!

First the bottle…

AMETHYST
    Amethyst is the purple variety of crystalline quartz (SiO2). After colourless rock crystal, it is the most abundant type of quartz, found in many parts of the world. The most familiar formation is on the inside of large geode ‘eggs’, where the crystals form inside the geode’s cavity.
    The characteristic colouration is caused by iron (Fe4+) impurities in the crystal, the quantity ranging from a few dozen parts per million to several hundred, thus producing a spectrum of shades from an almost colourless pale blue-violet to a rich intense purple. The colour intensity is often graduated within the length of a single crystal, with the darker part usually near the pyramid-like tips of the crystal. It is also sometimes found with alternating bands of purple and clear quartz.
    If heated, amethyst can turn yellow-orange or yellow-brown in tone, when it may be confused with (and sometimes sold as) citrine, the yellow variety of quartz. Heat treated yellow amethyst is usually distinguishable by its orange or brownish tinge.  Natural citrine tends to have a paler lemon-yellow hue.
    The colour of the bottle shown here has less of the blue-violet, and more of a pinkish hue than normally associated with amethyst. When the bottle was originally posted on the forum (see link:
http://snuffbottle.smfforfree.com/index.php/topic,1697.msg19657.html#msg19657 ) Rick mentioned the possibility of it being 'Siberian' amethyst. This was not a term I had come across before, so I did a little checking, only to discover that there is indeed a Siberian source of amethyst which conforms closely to this colour. The raw mineral specimen illustrated here is quite a good colour match, although I was unable to acquire a larger chunk, and in fact comes from Nha Trang district, Central Vietnam. It is unusual in that it is double terminated, meaning it has well formed pyramid terminations at both ends of the crystal. It measures 4.4 cm in length from tip to tip, and is 3.5 cm wide. The bottle itself is 5.8 cm high without stopper.
 
Some interesting amethyst trivia…

    The name amethyst comes from the Greek word ‘amethystos’ which means ‘not drunken’. Ancient Greeks believed that amethyst would protect one from the effects of drunkenness when consuming alcohol. A possible explanation for this unusual virtue being given to amethyst is that when water is poured into a cup fashioned of amethyst, it would have the appearance of wine yet could be drunk without experiencing wine's normal inebriating effect.
    In ancient cultures, amethyst amulets were worn as antidotes against poison, to dispel sleep, as protection against harm in battle, and to sharpen one's wits.  In medieval times, amethyst was still credited with protecting one from the effects of drunkenness, both of the cup and also from the intoxicating effects of being in love. The wearing of amethyst was also known to protect soldiers from harm and give them victory over their enemies, and assist hunters with the capture of wild animals.
    So, next time you carry an amethyst snuff bottle around, remember that you have a lot of protective properties to choose from!

And now for the stopper…
 
TURQUOISE
    The stopper you see on this bottle is a reticulated carved turquoise with a coral ‘seed’ finial and gilt metal ‘rope-twist’ collar. Here are a few turquoise facts taken from the web:
    Turquoise is a blue to grey-green mineral consisting of copper aluminum phosphate. The mineral is a hydrous phosphate of aluminum, which includes a small percent of copper. The copper is what gives the mineral its blue colouring. When the turquoise mineral is associated with iron, that’s when you get the greenish turquoise. If the mineral contains zinc, the turquoise mineral will have more of a yellowish colour.
For those ‘techies’ among us here is the chemical formula for turquoise: CuAl6(PO4)4(OH)8•4(H2O)
(You really wanted to know that, I can tell!  )
    The mineral turquoise is formed by a chemical reaction which occurs when water containing specific minerals such as copper and aluminum leak through a rock. It forms in veins, which later turn into its massive form as clumps of uniformly indistinguishable crystals. While the form is typically vein or fracture filling, it can also be nodular, or botryoidal* in habit, as is the ‘nugget’ shown here, which is 4.5 cm long. 
    Turquoise is an absorptive mineral, and the oils left behind from repeated handling will, over a period of time, cause the bluer tones to turn into a more yellowish-green hue.

Note* A botryoidal texture or mineral habit is one in which the mineral has a globular external form resembling a bunch of grapes as derived from the Greek.

[George]

Wow Tom !  Outstanding bottle and beautiful double terminated example ..

"If heated, amethyst can turn yellow-orange or yellow-brown in tone, when it may be confused with (and sometimes sold as) citrine, the yellow variety of quartz. Heat treated yellow amethyst is usually distinguishable by its orange or brownish tinge."

I did not know that amethyst could be heat treated.. Very interesting indeed..

Absolutely wonderful matching of a raw mineral to a bottle Tom.. I really enjoy these posts ! 

[AntPeople]

Everything is very nice!.... Bottle, minerals, pictures and all the information... Thanks Tom

[joearp]

Awesome Tom.  I really enjoyed this post. I don't have an amethyst bottle but have certainly enjoyed looking at yours.  I also appreciate your discussion of this gemstone as well as the trivia you shared.  I will feel "protected" when I wear my bracelet with amethyst gems!

[rpfstoneman]

Wonderful post Tom!  As with the others I appreciate the condensed and detailed discussion on the materials, and I always love to see the bottles.

Charll   

[Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司]

Dear Tom,
     I agree with all the other comments. Wonderful post 'twofer' ('two fer the price of one')!   
   Shabbat Shalom,
     From frigid Toronto (brrrrr!),
'Joeycicle'

[Wattana]

George, Pin, Jo, Charll and Joey,

Thank you all for your encouraging comments. My next "match" will come later in the month.......unless someone else would like to post one earlier.

Tom
PS: For Joey's sake, I should sign off as 'Thawmas' 

[YT]

Dear "Thawmas",

Think I miss out on this post

Thank you again for a wonderful match and an even more detailed mineral analysis.

Cheers,
YT

[David]

Dear Tom and Charll,

Thank you both for opening my eyes with the wonderful display of your bottles next to the raw crystal. What a great idea the both of you had.

I had no idea of the work that a clean crystal bottle needs and the rarity of some crystal material itself is.

Dear Tom,

Please put me down, for reservation of a copy of your book or display catalog   

Astounded,
David

[Wattana]

Please put me down, for reservation of a copy of your book or display catalog   

Thanks for the encouragement David.

Well, that's 3 copies reserved then.......one for my wife, one for my mother, and one for you. 

Tom

[David]

Thank you! 

What date should I mark on my calendar?  Kidding!

warmly,
David

[Wattana]

We haven't had any new 'matches' here for a while....

This bottle was acquired some 20 years ago, but I’ve never seen another like it before or since.

Description:
     Green aventurine snuff bottle of flattened rounded rectangular form, with cylindrical neck, flat lip and a raised oval footrim with recessed base; reasonably well hollowed. Beige agate stopper with a yellow collar (this needs changing to something more attractive!).
     Height w/o stopper 5.1 cm.
     Probably mid to late 20th Century

Commentary:
     The mineral takes its name from the famous Venetian gold-flecked glass which it loosely resembles. Snuff bottles made of this distinctive type of glass will be familiar to most collectors. Confusingly, the natural stone that resembles this glass most closely is goldstone, also known as sunstone. That stone belongs to the feldspar mineral group. Natural aventurine is a member of the quartz family, which is slightly harder than feldspar.  Green is the most common colour for aventurine, deriving its characteristic colour and sparkle from the reflection of minute inclusions of fuchsite mica in the matrix. It is sometimes confused with jade. 
     Aventurine can also be found in shades of blue, grey, yellow, orange or reddish-brown. The presence of pyrite inclusions is responsible for the yellowish-brown varieties, and hematite for reddish-brown ones.
     While it is likely that the Chinese were aware of natural aventurine from sources in Russia and India, it does not appear to have been used during the Qing period. Snuff bottles made of goldstone mostly date to the 1960s or later, when that stone first became popular as a novelty material for bottles and stoppers. It is relatively uncommon to find snuff bottles made of natural aventurine, hence this bottle is a little harder to date accurately.
     A chunk of green aventurine in its raw state is included for comparison at the bottom.

[George]

Wonderful bottle Tom !

Ironic in that glass snuff bottles are normally created to imitate various minerals.  With Aventurine, it is opposite. The natural stone is named for the glass that mimics the stone's appearance..

Thanks for sharing another beautiful matching mineral with snuff bottle .. 

[Wattana]

Ironic in that glass snuff bottles are normally created to imitate various minerals.  With Aventurine, it is opposite. The natural stone is named for the glass that mimics the stone's appearance..

You are right. I believe this is the only case where it happens to be that way around.
Maybe we need to reverse the title of this thread. 

[Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司]

Dear Tom,
 
     I could be wrong, but I'd date that beautiful Aventurine bottle to the period 1950-1995 (or at least to 6 months before you know it came on the market, whichever is later).

     I actually didn't know there were bottles of Aventurine. I only knew of Aventurine Glass.
Best,
Joey

[Fiveroosters aka clayandbrush]

Dear Tom,
really impressive! If you didn't say that it is glass, I would have seen it as stone. I like glass bottles imitating other materials, this your bottle is a real master in that!
Thank you for showing it.
Kind regards
Giovanni

[Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司]

Dear Giovanni,

     I fear you misunderstood. It IS mineral, but the name copies a glass meant to imitate a mineral.
Actually, that confuses me too!
Best,
Shabbat Shalom,
Joey

Dear Tom,
really impressive! If you didn't say that it is glass, I would have seen it as stone. I like glass bottles imitating other materials, this your bottle is a real master in that!
Thank you for showing it.
Kind regards
Giovanni

[Fiveroosters aka clayandbrush]

Dear Joey,
thank you, I have misunderstood, that is the reason why I found it so exceptional.
Nevertheless, a fine bottle dear Tom!
Kind regards
Giovanni

[Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司]

Dear Giovanni,
 
    We are agreed that it is a fine bottle.
Best,
Joey

Dear Joey,
thank you, I have misunderstood, that is the reason why I found it so exceptional.
Nevertheless, a fine bottle dear Tom!
Kind regards
Giovanni

[YT]

Dear Tom,

Another fine example which is quite rare.
There are more examples of aventurine in brown and dated to early 20th.

I just learnt about Goldstone (aventurine glass) from your post and recalled an antique seller trying to sell me a small goldstone Buddha. He was very sure that goldstone is natural. 

Cheers,
YT