mystery skull guatemala

Hi everyone,
I have bought this large skull which is discribed as a jade skull of guatamala. But it isn't jade but some sort of glass. Can't find any reference to this glass but it is indeed imported out of guatamala legaly that is. Has anyone seen glass like this with the same patern as larimar stone.

 

this is what an import seller says on his site: https://www.timmersgems.com/de/75-85-mm-jade-schadel-aus-guatemala-ca-3-33-kg

 

It looks similar to others described as green fluorite.

 

yes i have seen that but this one has airbubbles and i believe that natural stones like fluorite have no airbubbles.

 

Check Mohs hardness scale. How soft is it? What will scratch it, a steel blade, your fingernail? That will help you tell jadeite from fluorite from talc. Also, I'm not seeing the air bubbles being mentioned. Where should I be looking?

 

the air bubbles are hard to photograph but they are there on the last photo and the eyes and teeth have moulding characteristics. see blob top of the teeth
photo

 

It is fluorite. I see surface pitting, which can occur on fluorite because it is a very soft stone, 4-5 on the Mohs scale.
Please don't scratch it with a knife, it will damage the piece.

I see a roughly carved piece with some chipping. What looks like blobs are probably harder crystalised bits in the stone. Fluorite generally has other minerals in it, which accounts for the different colours. A gemologist or geologist can probably explain this better.
The carving is not top quality, but people have to earn a living.

 

can you scratch fluorite with your finger nail. because on this skull it doesn't

 

I never scratch anything so I can't speak from experience. I look at a piece and if needed I test without doing any damage.
But to answer your question, I just read that a fingernail has a hardness of 2.5 on the Mohs scale, fluorite is 4-5, so I guess if you were to scratch fluorite with your fingernail it won't leave a mark.

 

Well i have to disapoint you. I have taken a close look with my 10x loup and saw a clear custer of bubbles in the glass, see photo as an example. because it's to small to photograph and is deep within the glass.

 

It would have been very helpful if you had explained in the beginning how you came to the conclusion it was glass. We are very used to people misidentifying materials, and so don't take that as a given without explanation.

I cannot find exact comparisons, but try looking at "landscape glass" and "gabion glass" ("gabion" refers to wire cages used to hold rocks for constructing walls/barriers). Made from recycled glass, it is made in various colors.

How did you confirm this?


https://www.ganistone.com/product/Gabion-Glass-Rock.html

 

this skull and others like it are all imported from guatemala see link i gave with timmers jems. wich is the same material but wrongly mentioned as jade why i don´t know is it ignorence or scamming for more money. And yes i should have mentioned the airbubbles right in the beginning.

 

No disappointment at all. I was only trying to help you. As you may have gathered from my earlier post, I have no interest whatsoever in the skull.
And as 2many said, full disclosure is always best, otherwise everyone is just wasting their time.

Did you buy it from Timmers?

 

O but i didn't mean it like that at all and did not think you had interest in the skull. I bought it in a mineral shop who probably bought it from timmers jems or another importer of minerals. Very strange skull but i like it alot.

 

If you are not certain that this skull came from Guatemala (it may just be suggested to link it to precolumbian objects), perhaps it came from China. Here is an example of recycled landscape glass being made in China -


https://springbreezeglass.en.made-i...Gabion-Glass-Block-Manufacturer-Colorful.html

They like to copy anything that has value, and it would be difficult to trace this type of reproduction.

 

Without proof of origin it could have been made anywhere. There is less interest in carved skulls than 20 or so years ago, but there is still enough interest to make production worthwhile.

 

The type of glass your showing does not even come close to this skull. because the glass of my skull has a very interesting pattern in it but your glass has not got that.and i have seen your glass also here at the garden center. After research i found other skulls of the same material and they al have imported from guatemala thats what the seller said to me. But thanks for all the imput from al of you. mystery continues.

 

is this something helpful.....???

https://www.etsy.com/in-en/listing/1078263780/guatemala-jadeite-skull-handcarved-rare

 

Well the mystery continous . i have taken the skull to the natural history museum and have it microscope looked at. And it is hand made not with machines and the material is still a mystery but we have found out it is in fact not glass. It is soft as flourite but has a concoidal fracture????

 

Was it a geologist who examined it? Under the microscope, were they able to see the bubbles you said you saw?

Can you post a photo of the conchoidal fracture?