The ancient Sumerians utilized crystals in their religious practices as early as 4000 BC. The Chinese were incorporating crystals in traditional medicine as early as 3000 BC. The classical Greeks gave us the name for crystal (krustallos), which means ice. They saw crystals as a type of petrified ice. The geometric shape and beauty still fascinate people today. Crystal Bridges Museum of American
Art is a premier collection of art that spans five centuries of masterpieces. The collection is world-renowned for some of the most treasured pieces of American art from a wide selection of well-known artists. The museum is located on a large 120-acre wooded area on the Ozark highlands in Bentonville, Arkansas. There are trails and outdoor sculptures that take the visitor through the gentle hills of the beautiful Ozark landscape. One trail leads pass a rock wall made up of massive quartz crystals from Arkansas. A priceless home designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright has been moved and reconstructed on the site.
Lauren Haynes, with guest curator Joachim Pissarro, has organized the collection of 75 exhibits that include crystals from Ancient Egypt, Rome, and China. One of the sponsors, Avant Mining, provided amazing specimens of Quartz crystals from the quartz mine in Arkansas. The large clusters and massive single points comprise a collection that rivals museum collections and are of special interest to collectors and rock hounds.
The building that houses the collection is more than 200,000 square feet and includes galleries, a restaurant, a hall that seats 300, meeting and classrooms, a gift shop, and a library featuring more than 50,000 volumes of art references. There is no cost to view the permanent collection. General admission is always free.
This story is from the April 2020 edition of Rock&Gem Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 2020 edition of Rock&Gem Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORGAN HILL POPPY JASPER
In California, there are very few places to collect semi-precious stones. Many locations from the past have been either exhausted of the material or the land has been developed.
THE ACORN
The briolette gemstone has the same design attributes of a regular gemstone, however, the pavilion is elongated and the crown is usually domed. This is perfect for an elegant pendant, earrings or a pendulum.
HOW TO PUT A PROTECTIVE CAP ON A CAB
To protect a specimen cab, often a cap is needed. In my case, I had a slab with the because of the color of the background and the pattern. This background had a more silicified consistency than most sandstones. It had no graininess like most sandstone, so I'm inclined to compare it to a jasper. The pattern was typical of a dendrite.
The Resilient Revival of Anne Brontë & Her Stones
For the first time, the Anne Brontë rock collection underwent complete description and identification, and along with Professor Hazel Hutchison of Leeds University and Dr. Enrique Lozano Diz at ELODIZ (a company specializing in spectroscopy analysis), an analysis of that collaboration, Anne Brontë and Geology: A Study of her Collection of Stones, was published in April 2022 in Volume 47, Issue 2 of the peer-reviewed journal, Brontë Studies & Gazette.\"
Amazing Women with Rock-Solid Careers
Explorers, Geologists, Educators & Jewelry Makers...
The Case of the Bleeding Glacier
It's a gory sight called Blood Falls. Ever since British geologist Thomas Griffith Taylor first noted it in 1911, it has been a mystery.
Asteroid Samples Are Said to Hold Invaluable Secrets
If Only Scientists Can Pop the Lid!
Paleontologists Embrace a New Method for Seeing Fossils within Rock
Fossil bone can be delicate. Attempts to remove it from a hard rock matrix by picking and scratching or etching with acids can be time-consuming and/or may end up obliterating that which you hope to study.
Need a Map of the Ocean Floor?
Call in the Seals!
A Step Closer to Hydrogen, the "Climate-Friendly Fuel"
As I reported last June, the world is racing to find sustainably renewable, nonpolluting sources of energy to replace our carbon-based reserves of coal, oil and gas.
