Long Rainbow-obsidian Magatama: Shinto Stone Amulets For Sale

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Unlike the off-center oval seedbeads that've borrowed their name, magatama were originally "curved jewels" like the ones here, carved into a distinctive shape that resembles a drop of water, a tongue of flame, or a sprouting seed. Most of the versions I've had lately have been rather flattened commas, but I've started to dig up some longer, rounder ones that're closer to Wikipedia's informal description of "a baseball with a tail".

It took me a while to figure these out, and it's difficult to photograph them properly-- these are made of rainbow obsidian, an unusualform of natural volcanic glass. Like most obsidian, their general appearance is glossy opaque black, but the "rainbow" part comes into play in strong direct light. Under those conditions, an elusive, silky veil of colorslides under the surface in a deep jewel-tone of midnight blue, forest-shadow green, sunset bronze, velvety purple, or some other similar palette. Apparently this effect is caused by layers of tiny aligned crystals of feldspar or mica. It's beautiful.

The listing is individually priced: one purchase = one magatama, though of course you can make multiple purchases if you need more than one. Their dimensions are about 35mm long, 20mm wide, and 12mm deep through the 3mm-diameter borehole.

Please check my other listings, and thanks for looking! ^_^

This item has been shown 3213 times. Long Rainbow-obsidian Magatama: Shinto Stone Amulets: $20