Gold Goddess Pendant Bronze Wicca Mother Earth Energy Venus Willendorf Jewelry

Gold Goddess Pendant Bronze Wicca Mother Earth Energy Venus Willendorf Jewelry

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Gold Goddess Pendant Bronze Wicca Mother Earth Energy Venus Willendorf Jewelry:
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Hi there. I am selling this really nice gold (or bronze) goddess pendant.
She is modeled after an ancient carving known as the Venus of Willendorf, which is the oldest known carving of the human form, which is 23,000 to 24,000 years old!
She is so beautiful and nice, she weighs 11.80 carats which is 2.37 grams and is 36 mm by 12 mm by 4 mm and is very cute!.
It is new, but it is been designed to appear to have a vintage style and look to it.
If youhave any questions, do not hesitate to ask me.
Have fun offerding, thanks so much for visiting my sale and have a great day:>

Venus of Willendorf From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Venus of WillendorfMaterialOolitic limestoneCreated22,000 B.C.E– 21,000 B.C.E.Discovered1908 near Willendorf, by Josef SzombathyPresent locationNaturhistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria

The Venus of Willendorf, also known as the Woman of Willendorf, is an 11cm (4.3 in) high statuette of a female figure estimated to have been made between 22,000 and 21,000 BCE. It was discovered in 1908 by archaeologist Josef Szombathy at a paleolithic site near Willendorf, a village in Lower Austria near the city of Krems.[1] It is carved from an oolitic limestone that is not local to the area, and tinted with red ochre.

Since this figure\'s discovery and naming, several similar statuettes and other forms of art have been discovered. They are collectively referred to as Venus figurines, although they pre-date the mythological figure of Venus by millennia.

Contents [hide]
  • 1 History
  • 2 Notes
  • 3 See also
  • 4 External links
History

As of 1990, following a revised analysis of the stratigraphy of its site, it has been estimated to have been carved 24,000–22,000 BCE.[1] Very little is known about its origin, method of creation, or cultural significance.

The Venus of Willendorf was recovered in a site that contained a few amulets of Moldavite.[2]

The apparent large size of the breasts and abdomen, and the detail put into the vulva, have led scholars to interpret the figure as a fertility symbol. The figure has no visible face, her head being covered with circular horizontal bands of what might be rows of plaited hair, or a type of headdress.[3]

The nickname, urging a comparison to the classical image of \"Venus,\" causes resistance in some modern analyses. According to Christopher Witcombe, \"the ironic identification of these figurines as \'Venus\' pleasantly satisfied certain assumptions at the time about the primitive, about women, and about taste\".[4]

The purpose of the carving is subject to much speculation. The statue was not created with feet and does not stand on its own.

Venus of Willendorf

Catherine McCoid and LeRoy McDermott hypothesize that the figurines may have been created as self-portraits.[5]

Stephen R. Berlant has suggested a possible connection with a mushroom cult, based on visual similarities between the figurine and typical young Amanita muscaria mushrooms, a natural psychotrope.[6]

\"Venus of Willendorf\" is part of the collection of the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna.[7]

The following is information about quartz crystal from (from German Quarz (help·info)[1]) is the most abundant mineral in the Earth\'s continental crust (although feldspar is more common in the world as a whole). It is made up of a lattice of silica (SiO2) tetrahedra. Quartz has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale and a density of 2.65 g/cm³.
Contents
* 1 Crystal habit
* 2 Varieties
o 2.1 Synthetic and artificial treatments
* 3 Occurrence
* 4 Related silica minerals
* 5 History
* 6 Piezoelectricity
* 7 See also
* 8 Notes
* 9 References
Crystal habitQuartz belongs to the rhombohedral crystal system. The ideal crystal shape is a six-sided prism terminating with six-sided pyramids at each end. In nature quartz crystals are often twinned, distorted, or so intergrown with adjacent crystals of quartz or other minerals as to only show part of this shape, or to lack obvious crystal faces altogether and appear massive. Well-formed crystals typically form in a \'bed\' that has unconstrained growth into a void, but because the crystals must be attached at the other end to a matrix, only one termination pyramid is present. A quartz geode is such a situation where the void is approximately spherical in shape, lined with a bed of crystals pointing inward.VarietiesPure quartz is colorless or white; colored varieties include rose quartz, amethyst, smoky quartz, milky quartz, and others. Quartz goes by an array of different names. The most important distinction between types of quartz is that of macrocrystalline (individual crystals visible to the unaided eye) and the microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline varieties (aggregates of crystals visible only under high magnification). Chalcedony is a generic term for cryptocrystalline quartz. The cryptocrystalline varieties are either translucent or mostly opaque, while the transparent varieties tend to be macrocrystalline.Although many of the varietal names historically arose from the color of the mineral, current scientific naming schemes refer primarily to the microstructure of the mineral. Color is a secondary identifier for the cryptocrystalline minerals, although it is a primary identifier for the macrocrystalline varieties. This does not always hold true.
Major Varieties Chalcedony Any cryptocrystalline quartz, although generally only used for white or lightly colored material. Otherwise more specific names are used.
Agate Multi-colored, banded chalcedony, semi-translucent to translucent
Onyx Agate where the bands are straight, parallel and consistent in size.
Jasper Opaque chalcedony, typically red to brown
Aventurine Translucent chalcedony with small inclusions (usually mica) that shimmer.
Tiger\'s eye Fibrous gold to red-brown coloured quartz, exhibiting chatoyancy.
Rock crystal Clear, colorless
Amethyst Purple, transparent
Citrine Yellow to reddish orange to brown, greenish yellow
Prasiolite Mint green, transparent
Rose quartz Pink, translucent, may display diasterism
Rutilated quartz Contains acicular (needles) inclusions of rutile
Milk quartz White, translucent to opaque, may display diasterism
Smoky quartz Brown to grey, opaque
Morion Dark-brown, opaque
Carnelian Reddish orange chalcedony, translucent
Tiger\'s eye

Rose quartz

Milk quartz

Rutilated quartz crystalQuartz sand from Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Utah. These have a hematite coating which provides the orange color. Scale bar is 1.0 mm.
Synthetic and artificial treatments
A synthetic quartz crystal grown by the hydrothermal method, about 19 cm long and weights about 127 grams
A synthetic quartz crystal grown by the hydrothermal method, about 19 cm long and weights about 127 gramsNot all varieties of quartz are naturally occurring. Prasiolite, an olive colored material, is produced by heat treatment; natural prasiolite has also been observed in Lower Silesia in Poland. Although citrine occurs naturally, the majority is the result of heat-treated amethyst. Carnelian is widely heat-treated to deepen its color.Due to natural quartz being so often twinned, much of the quartz used in industry is synthesized. Large, flawless and untwinned crystals are produced in an autoclave via the hydrothermal process; emeralds are also synthesized in this fashion. While these are still commonly referred to as quartz, the correct term for this material is silicon dioxide.OccurrenceQuartz occurs in hydrothermal veins and pegmatites. Well-formed crystals may reach several meters in length and weigh hundreds of kilograms. These veins may bear precious metals such as gold or silver, and form the quartz ores sought in mining. Erosion of pegmatites may reveal expansive pockets of crystals, known as \"cathedrals.\"Quartz is a common constituent of granite, sandstone, limestone, and many other igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks.
Related silica mineralsTridymite and cristobalite are high-temperature polymorphs of SiO2 that occur in high-silica volcanic rocks. Coesite is a denser polymorph of quartz found in some meteorite impact sites and in metamorphic rocks formed at pressures greater than those typical of the Earth\'s crust. Stishovite is a yet denser and higher-pressure polymorph of quartz found in some meteorite impact sites. Lechatelierite is an amorphous silica glass SiO2 which is formed by lightning strikes in quartz sand.History
Quartz crystal showing transparency.
Quartz crystal showing transparency.The name \"quartz\" comes from the German \"Quarz\", which is of Slavic origin (Czech miners called it křemen). Other sources insist the name is from the Saxon word \"Querkluftertz\", meaning cross-vein ore.[2]Quartz is the most common material identified as the mystical substance maban in Australian Aboriginal mythology. It is found regularly in passage tomb cemeteries in Europe in a burial context, eg. Newgrange or Carrowmore in the Republic of Ireland. The Irish word for quartz is grian cloch, which means \'stone of the sun\'.Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder believed quartz to be water ice, permanently frozen after great lengths of time. (The word \"crystal\" comes from the Greek word for ice.) He supported this idea by saying that quartz is found near glaciers in the Alps, but not on volcanic mountains, and that large quartz crystals were fashioned into spheres to cool the hands. He also knew of the ability of quartz to split light into a spectrum. This idea persisted until at least the 1600s.In the 17th century, Nicolas Steno\'s study of quartz paved the way for modern crystallography. He discovered that no matter how distorted a quartz crystal, the long prism faces always made a perfect 60 degree angle.Charles Sawyer invented the commercial quartz crystal manufacturing process in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. This initiated the transition from mined and cut quartz for electrical appliances to manufactured quartz.Quartz\'s piezoelectric properties were discovered by Jacques and Pierre Curie in 1880. The quartz oscillator or resonator was first developed by Walter Guyton Cady in 1921 [1]. George Washington Pierce designed and patented quartz crystal oscillators in 1923 [2]. Warren Marrison created the first quartz oscillator clock based on the work of Cady and Pierce in 1927 [3].PiezoelectricityQuartz crystals have piezoelectric properties, that is they develop an electric potential upon the application of mechanical stress. An early use of this property of quartz crystals was in phonograph pickups. One of the most common piezoelectric uses of quartz today is as a crystal oscillator. The quartz clock is a familiar device using the mineral. The resonant frequency of a quartz crystal oscillator is changed by mechanically loading it, and this principle is used for very accurate measurements of very small mass changes in the quartz crystal microbalance and in thin-film thickness is some information about Phantom PROPERTIES * Phantom quartz chemical composition: SiO2
* Class: tectosilicate
* Crystal system: Hexagonal-R; 32 (trigonal-trapezohedral)
* Crystal habit: Macroscopic crystals commonly occur as horizontally striated hexagonal prisms terminated by a combination of positive and negative rhombohedrons forming six sided pyramids. Prism faces and/or rhombohedral terminations may be lacking, poorly developed or predominant resulting in diverse possible crystal habits. Trigonal tapezohedral faces can occur in the upper right or left of alternating prism faces identifying right or left handed crystals, respectively.
* Twinning: Dauphine twin with c the twin axis, Brazil twin with {1120} the twin plane, Japanese twin is rare with {1122} the twin plane.
* Specific gravity: 2.65
* Index of refraction: 1.54-1.55
* Birefringence: maximum of 0.009
* Hardness: 7
* Color: phantoms are commonly green, milky white, or shades of orange, red, purple or brown
* Luster: vitreous
* Transparency: opaque to transparent
* Cleavage: none
* Fracture: conchoidal
* Streak: white Return to the Index of Phantom Quartz Information Topics
QUARTZ (Phantom Quartz) BACKGROUND INFORMATIONPhantom quartz is a macrocrystalline variety of the mineral Quartz (SiO2). Quartz is the most abundant single mineral on earth. It makes up about 12% of the earth\'s crust, occurring in a wide variety of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks.Quartz varieties are commonly separated into two groups based on the size of the individual grains or crystals; macrocrystalline quartz in which individual crystals are distinguishable with the naked eye, and cryptocrystalline quartz in which the individual crystals are too small to be easily distinguishable under the light microscope.Some of the macrocrystalline quartz varieties are: Amethyst, Ametrine, Cat\'s-eye Quartz, Citrine, Phantom Quartz , Rock Crystal, Rose Quartz, Rutilated Quartz and Smoky Quartz.
Blue Aventurine Quartz and Green Aventurine Quartz are actually quartzites (a rock, not a mineral) composed essentially of interlocking macrocrystalline quartz grains with disseminated grains of other color imparting minerals.The cryptocrystalline varieties of quartz may be separated into two types; fibrous and microgranular. Chalcedony is the general term applied to the fibrous cryptocrystalline varieties. Agate is an example of a fibrous cryptocystalline banded chalcedony variety of quartz. Carnelian, Chrysoprase and bloodstone are other chalcedony varieties.
Chert is the general term applied to the granular cryptocrystalline varieties of quartz, of which flint and Jasper are examples.Return to the Index of Phantom Quartz Information TopicsOCCURRENCE AND DIAGNOSTIC FEATURESPhantom quartz usually occurs in rock crystal, but is also found in smoky quartz, citrine and amethyst.Rock crystal is transparent and colorless quartz. It commonly occurs inside quartz veins where it crytallizes in rock cavities known as vugs or pockets. It also is common in vugs or pockets in pegmatite dikes. Rock crystal often occurs as secondary quartz crystals on cryptocrystalline quartz in cavities and vugs, and in geodes.Natural radiation from radioactive elements or adjacent radioactive rocks can cause rock crystal to assume a brown to gray color, known as smoky quartz. Minor iron impurities can cause rock crystal to be purple (amethyst) or yellowish-orange (citrine).Phantom quartz crystal shapes can sometimes be seen in the interior of quartz crystals, outlining an earlier stage of the crystal\'s formation. These phantoms are usually composed of other minerals such as chlorite, goethite or hematite or are composed of other varieties of quartz such as milky quartz, smoky quartz or even amethyst which form on most or all of the surfaces of the quartz crystal at a particular point in time during its growth, after which the quartz crystal resumes its crystallization enclosing the phantom crystal outline within itself.Phantom quartz is recognized by its characteristic phantom crystal within itself. It can be identified as quartz by its crystal habit, transparency, hardness, glassy luster, conchoidal fracture, occurance and general lack of cleavage.Return to the Index of Phantom Quartz Information TopicsHISTORICAL INFORMATION AND USESPliny wrote nearly 2000 years ago that quartz crystals formed from ice exposed to intense cold for long periods of time in dark clefts and caverns in the mountains. This general belief was popular in diverse cultures until the eighteenth century, when modern geology began to develope in Europe.Phantom quartz crystals have been referred to as ghost crystals, spectre crystals and shadow crystals.The name quartz comes from the Saxon word querklufterz which meant cross vein ore.Return to the Index of Phantom Quartz Information TopicsMETAPHYSICAL PROPERTIESPhantom quartz crystals are said to help one understand the various stages in life that we all evolve thru, and they are said to be an excellent tool for meditation and for remembrance of past lives. some information about Chlorite (this is the Green specks that are inside the crystal that cause the chlorites are a group of phyllosilicate minerals. Chlorites can be described by the following four endmembers based on their chemistry via substitution of the following four elements in the silicate lattice; Mg, Fe, Ni, and Mn. * Clinochlore: (Mg5Al)(AlSi3)O10(OH)8
* Chamosite: (Fe5Al)(AlSi3)O10(OH)8
* Nimite: (Ni5Al)(AlSi3)O10(OH)8
* Pennantite: (Mn,Al)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8In addition zinc, lithium and calcium species are known. The great range in composition results in considerable variation in physical, optical, and X-ray properties. Similarly, the range of chemical composition allows chlorite group minerals to exist over a wide range of temperature and pressure conditions. For this reason chlorite minerals are ubiquitous minerals within low and medium temperature metamorphic rocks, some igneous rocks, hydrothermal rocks and deeply buried sediments.
Contents
[hide] * 1 Chlorite structure
* 2 Occurrence
* 3 Members of the Chlorite group:
* 4 See also
* 5 References[edit] Chlorite structureThe typical general formula is: This formula emphasises the structure of the group.Chlorites have a 2:1 sandwich structure (2:1 sandwich layer = tetrahedral-octahedral-tetrahedral = t-o-t...), this is often referred to as a talc layer. Unlike other 2:1 clay minerals, a chlorite\'s interlayer space (the space between each 2:1 sandwich filled by a cation) is comprised of (Mg2+, Fe3+)(OH)6. This (Mg2+, Fe3+)(OH)6 unit is more commonly referred to as the brucite-like layer, due to its closer resemblance to the mineral brucite (Mg(OH)2). Therefore, chlorite\'s structure appears as follows: -t-o-t-brucite-t-o-t-brucite ...An older classification divided the chlorites into two subgroups: the orthochlorites and leptochlorites. The terms are seldom used and the ortho prefix is somewhat misleading as the chlorite crystal system is monoclinic and not orthorhombic.[edit] OccurrenceChlorite is commonly found in igneous rocks as an alteration product of mafic minerals such as pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite. Chlorite is a common mineral associated with hydrothermal ore deposits and commonly occurs with epidote, sericite, adularia and sulfide minerals. In this Environment chlorite may be a retrograde metamorphic alteration mineral of existing ferromagnesian minerals, or it may be present as a metasomatism product via addition of Fe, Mg, or other compounds into the rock mass. Chlorite is also a common metamorphic mineral, usually indicative of low-grade metamorphism. It is the diagnostic species of the zeolite facies and of lower greenschist facies. It occurs in the quartz, albite, sericite, chlorite, garnet assemblage of pelitic schist. Within ultramafic rocks, metamorphism can also produce predominantly clinochlore chlorite in association with talc. Experiments indicate that chlorite can be stable in peridotite of the Earth\'s mantle above the ocean lithosphere carried down by subduction, and chlorite may even be present in the mantle volume from which island arc magmas are generated.[edit] Members of the Chlorite group: Baileychlore (Zn,Fe+2,Al,Mg)6(Al,Si)4O10(O,OH)8
Chamosite (Fe,Mg)5Al(Si3Al)O10(OH)8
Clinochlore (Mg,Fe2+)5Al(Si3Al)O10(OH)8
Cookeite LiAl4(Si3Al)O10(OH)8
Donbassite Al2[Al2.33][Si3AlO10](OH)8
Gonyerite (Mn,Mg)5(Fe+3)2Si3O10(OH)8
Nimite (Ni,Mg,Al)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8
Odinite (Fe,Mg,Al,Fe,Ti,Mn)2.4(Al,Si)2O5OH4
Orthochamosite (Fe+2,Mg,Fe+3)5Al(Si3Al)O10(O,OH)8
Pennantite (Mn5Al)(Si3Al)O10(OH)8
Ripidolite (Mg,Fe,Al)6(Al,Si)4O10(OH)8
Sudoite Mg2(Al,Fe)3Si3AlO10(OH)8Clinoclore, pennantite, and chamosite are the most common varieties. Several other sub-varieties have been described.The name chlorite is from the Greek chloros, meaning \"green\", in reference to its color.The chlorites are a group of phyllosilicate minerals. Chlorites can be described by the following four endmembers based on their chemistry via substitution of the following four elements in the silicate lattice; Mg, Fe, Ni, and Mn. * Clinochlore: (Mg5Al)(AlSi3)O10(OH)8
* Chamosite: (Fe5Al)(AlSi3)O10(OH)8
* Nimite: (Ni5Al)(AlSi3)O10(OH)8
* Pennantite: (Mn,Al)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8In addition zinc, lithium and calcium species are known. The great range in composition results in considerable variation in physical, optical, and X-ray properties. Similarly, the range of chemical composition allows chlorite group minerals to exist over a wide range of temperature and pressure conditions. For this reason chlorite minerals are ubiquitous minerals within low and medium temperature metamorphic rocks, some igneous rocks, hydrothermal rocks and deeply buried sediments.
Contents
[hide] * 1 Chlorite structure
* 2 Occurrence
* 3 Members of the Chlorite group:
* 4 See also
* 5 References[edit] Chlorite structureThe typical general formula is: This formula emphasises the structure of the group.Chlorites have a 2:1 sandwich structure (2:1 sandwich layer = tetrahedral-octahedral-tetrahedral = t-o-t...), this is often referred to as a talc layer. Unlike other 2:1 clay minerals, a chlorite\'s interlayer space (the space between each 2:1 sandwich filled by a cation) is comprised of (Mg2+, Fe3+)(OH)6. This (Mg2+, Fe3+)(OH)6 unit is more commonly referred to as the brucite-like layer, due to its closer resemblance to the mineral brucite (Mg(OH)2). Therefore, chlorite\'s structure appears as follows: -t-o-t-brucite-t-o-t-brucite ...An older classification divided the chlorites into two subgroups: the orthochlorites and leptochlorites. The terms are seldom used and the ortho prefix is somewhat misleading as the chlorite crystal system is monoclinic and not orthorhombic.[edit] OccurrenceChlorite is commonly found in igneous rocks as an alteration product of mafic minerals such as pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite. Chlorite is a common mineral associated with hydrothermal ore deposits and commonly occurs with epidote, sericite, adularia and sulfide minerals. In this Environment chlorite may be a retrograde metamorphic alteration mineral of existing ferromagnesian minerals, or it may be present as a metasomatism product via addition of Fe, Mg, or other compounds into the rock mass. Chlorite is also a common metamorphic mineral, usually indicative of low-grade metamorphism. It is the diagnostic species of the zeolite facies and of lower greenschist facies. It occurs in the quartz, albite, sericite, chlorite, garnet assemblage of pelitic schist. Within ultramafic rocks, metamorphism can also produce predominantly clinochlore chlorite in association with talc. Experiments indicate that chlorite can be stable in peridotite of the Earth\'s mantle above the ocean lithosphere carried down by subduction, and chlorite may even be present in the mantle volume from which island arc magmas are generated.[edit] Members of the Chlorite group: Baileychlore (Zn,Fe+2,Al,Mg)6(Al,Si)4O10(O,OH)8
Chamosite (Fe,Mg)5Al(Si3Al)O10(OH)8
Clinochlore (Mg,Fe2+)5Al(Si3Al)O10(OH)8
Cookeite LiAl4(Si3Al)O10(OH)8
Donbassite Al2[Al2.33][Si3AlO10](OH)8
Gonyerite (Mn,Mg)5(Fe+3)2Si3O10(OH)8
Nimite (Ni,Mg,Al)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8
Odinite (Fe,Mg,Al,Fe,Ti,Mn)2.4(Al,Si)2O5OH4
Orthochamosite (Fe+2,Mg,Fe+3)5Al(Si3Al)O10(O,OH)8
Pennantite (Mn5Al)(Si3Al)O10(OH)8
Ripidolite (Mg,Fe,Al)6(Al,Si)4O10(OH)8
Sudoite Mg2(Al,Fe)3Si3AlO10(OH)8Clinoclore, pennantite, and chamosite are the most common varieties. Several other sub-varieties have been described.The name chlorite is from the Greek chloros, meaning \"green\", in reference to its color.Stone carving From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Not to be confused with petroglyphor sculpture.Stone carver carving stone, at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York, 1909.The Kilmartin Stones in Scotland - a collection of ancient stone carved graveslabsA famous khachkar at Goshavank Armenia.

Stone carving is an ancient activity where pieces of rough natural stone are shaped by the controlled removal of stone. Owing to the permanence of the material, stone work has survived which was created during our prehistory.

Work carried out by paleolithic societies to create flint tools is more often referred to as knapping. Stone carving that is done to produce lettering is more often referred to as lettering. The process of removing stone from the earth is called mining or quarrying.

The term Stone carving is one of the processes which may be used by an artist when creating a sculpture. The term also refers to the activity of masons in dressing stone blocks for use in architecture, building or civil engineering. It is also a phrase used by archaeologists, historians, and anthropologists to describe the activity involved in making some types of petroglyphs.

Contents
  • 1 History
  • 2 Stone sculpture
  • 3 Stone carving considerations
  • 4 Tools
  • 5 See also
  • 6 References
  • 7 External links
History

The oldest known works of representational art are stone carvings. Often marks carved into rock or petroglyphs will survive where painted work will not. Prehistoric Venus figurines such as the Venus of Berekhat Ram may be as old as 800,000 years, and are carved in stones such as tuff and limestone.

These earliest examples of stone carving are the result of hitting or scratching a softer stone with a harder one, although sometimes more resilient materials such as antlers are known to have been used for relatively soft stone. Another early technique was to use an abrasive that was rubbed on the stone to remove the unwanted area. Prior to the discovery of steel by any culture, all stone carving was carried out by using an abrasion technique, following rough hewing of the stone block using hammers. The reason for this is that bronze, the hardest available metal until steel, is not hard enough to work any but the softest stone. The Ancient Greeks used the ductility of bronze to trap small granules of carborundum, that are naturally occurring on the island of Milos, thus making a very efficient file for abrading the stone.

The development of iron made possible stone carving tools, such as chisels, drills and saws made from steel, that were capable of being hardened and tempered to a state hard enough to cut stone without deforming, while not being so brittle as to shatter. Carving tools have changed little since then.

Modern, industrial, large quantity techniques still rely heavily on abrasion to cut and remove stone, although at a significantly faster rate with processes such as water erosion and diamond saw cutting.

One modern stone carving technique uses a new process: The technique of applying sudden high temperature to the surface. The expansion of the top surface due to the sudden increase in temperature causes it to break away. On a small scale, Oxy-acetylene torches are used. On an industrial scale, lasers are used. On a massive scale, carvings such as the Crazy Horse Memorial carved from the Harney Peak granite of Mount Rushmore and the Confederate Memorial Park in Albany, Georgia are produced using jet heat torches.

Stone sculptureMain article: Stone sculptureThe Tang Dynasty Leshan Giant Buddha, near Leshan in Sichuan province, China. Construction began in 713, and was completed in 803, making it the largest stone-carved Buddha in the world.

Carving stone into sculpture is an activity older than civilization itself. Prehistoric sculptures were usually human forms, such as the Venus of Willendorf and the faceless statues of the Cycladic cultures of ancient Greece. Later cultures devised animal, human-animal and abstract forms in stone. The earliest cultures used abrasive techniques, and modern technology employs pneumatic hammers and other devices. But for most of human history, sculptors used hammer and chisel as the basic tools for carving stone.

The process begins with the selection of a stone for carving. Some artists use the stone itself as inspiration; the Renaissance artist Michelangelo claimed that his job was to free the human form trapped inside the block. Other artists begin with a form already in mind and find a stone to complement their vision. The sculptor may begin by forming a model in clay or wax, sketching the form of the statue on paper or drawing a general outline of the statue on the stone itself.

When ready to carve, the artist usually begins by knocking off large portions of unwanted stone. This is the \"roughing out\" stage of the sculpting process. For this task s/he may select a point chisel, which is a long, hefty piece of steel with a point at one end and a broad striking surface at the other. A pitching tool may also be used at this early stage; which is a wedge-shaped chisel with a broad, flat edge. The pitching tool is useful for splitting the stone and removing large, unwanted chunks. Those two chisels are used in combination with a masons driving hammer.

Once the general shape of the statue has been determined, the sculptor uses other tools to refine the figure. A toothed chisel or claw chisel has multiple gouging surfaces which create parallel lines in the stone. These tools are generally used to add texture to the figure. An artist might mark out specific lines by using calipers to measure an area of stone to be addressed, and marking the removal area with pencil, charcoal or chalk. The stone carver generally uses a shallower stroke at this point in the process, usually in combination with a wooden mallet.

Eventually the sculptor has changed the stone from a rough block into the general shape of the finished statue. Tools called rasps and rifflers are then used to enhance the shape into its final form. A rasp is a flat, steel tool with a coarse surface. The sculptor uses broad, sweeping strokes to remove excess stone as small chips or dust. A riffler is a smaller variation of the rasp, which can be used to create details such as folds of clothing or locks of hair.

The final stage of the carving process is polishing. Sandpaper can be used as a first step in the polishing process, or sand cloth. Emery, a stone that is harder and rougher than the sculpture media, is also used in the finishing process. This abrading, or wearing away, brings out the color of the stone, reveals patterns in the surface and adds a sheen. Tin and iron oxides are often used to give the stone a highly reflective exterior.

Sculptures can be carved via either the direct or the indirect carving method: indirect carving is a way of carving by using an accurate clay, wax or plaster model, which is then copied with the use of compasses, also called \"proportional dividers\"[1] or a pointing machine. The direct carving method is a way of carving in a more intuitive way, without first making an elaborate model. Sometimes a sketch on paper or a rough clay draft is made.

Stone carving considerations\'Arabic\' style carving on ashlar building blocks, Beith, Scotland.

Stone has been used for carving since ancient times for many reasons. Most types of stone are easier to find than metal ores, which have to be mined and smelted. Stone can be dug from the surface and carved with hand tools. Stone is more durable than wood, and carvings in stone last much longer than wooden artifacts. Stone comes in many varieties and artists have abundant choices in color, quality and relative hardness.

Soft stone such as chalk, soapstone, pumice and Tufa can be easily carved with found items such as harder stone or in the case of chalk even the fingernail. Limestones and marbles can be worked using abrasives and simple iron tools. Granite, basalt and some metamorphic stone is difficult to carve even with iron or steel tools; usually tungsten caroffere tipped tools are used, although abrasives still work well. Modern techniques often use abrasives attached to machine tools to cut the stone.

Precious and semi-precious gemstones are also carved into delicate shapes for jewellery or larger items, and polished; this is sometimes referred to as lapidary, although strictly speaking lapidary refers to cutting and polishing alone.

When worked, some stones release dust that can damage lungs (silica crystals are usually to blame), so a respirator is sometimes needed.

Tools

Basic stone carving tools fall into five categories:

  • Percussion tools for hitting - such as mallets, axes, adzes, bouchards and toothed hammers.
  • Tools for rough shaping of stone, to form a block the size needed for the carving. These include feathers and wedges and pitching tools.
  • Chisels for cutting - such as lettering chisels, points, pitching tools, and claw chisels. Chisels in turn may be hand held and hammered or pneumatic powered.
  • Diamond tools which include burrs, cup wheels, and blades mounted on a host of power tools.These are used sometimes through the entire carving process from rough work to final finish.
  • Abrasives for material removal - such as carborundum blocks, drills, saws, grinding and cutting wheels, water-abrasive machinery and dressing tools such as French and English drags.

More advanced processes, such as laser cutting and jet torches, use sudden high temperature with a combination of cooling water to spall flakes of stone. Other modern processes may involve diamond-wire machines or other large scale production equipment to remove large sections of undesired stone.

The use of chisels for stone carving is possible in several ways. Two are:

  • The masons stroke, in which a flat chisel is used at approximately 90 degrees to the surface in an organized sweep. It shatters the stone beneath it and each successive pass lowers the surface.
  • The lettering stroke, in which the chisel is used along the surface at approximately 30 degrees to cut beneath the existing surface.

There are many types and styles of stone carving tools, each carver will decide for themselves which tools to use. Traditionalists might use hand tools only.

  • Lettering chisels for incising small strokes create the details of letters in larger applications.
  • Fishtail carving chisels are used to create pockets, valleys and for intricate carving, whilst providing good visibility around the stone.
  • Masonry chisels are used for the general shaping of stones.
  • Stone point tools are used to rough out the surface of the stone.
  • Stone claw tools are used to remove the peaks and troughs left from the previously used tools.
  • Stone pitching tools are used to remove large quantities of stone.
  • Stone nickers are used to split stones by tracing a line along the stone with progressive strikes until the stone breaks along the line.

Powered pneumatic hammers make the hard work easier. Progress on shaping stone is faster with pneumatic carving tools. Air hammers (such as Cuturi) place many thousands of impacts per minute upon the end of the tool, which would usually be manufactured or modified to suit the tool. This type of tool creates the ability to \'shave\' the stone, providing a smooth and consistent stroke, allowing for larger surfaces to be worked.

Among modern tool types, there are two main stone carving chisels:

  • Heat treated high carbon steel tools - Generally forged
  • Tungsten caroffere tipped tools - Generally forged, slotted, and caroffere inserts brazed in to provide a harder and longer-wearing cutting edge.

CR Gray, Sculptor - grinding with a carborundum wheel== Gallery ==

  • Sculptor at work

  • Direct carving method: \'The Unknown Righteous Among the Nations\', red granite sculpture by Shelomo Selinger (b. 1928), 1987, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, Israel

  • Using plug and feathers to split a block of marble from the quarry

  • Carrara marble quarry

  • Pitching tool used in preliminary rough shaping blocks of stone.

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