14.3" Polished Ocean Jasper Fish Sculpture (25 lbs) - Madagascar

This is a colorful, 14.3" long by 10.6" tall, polished stone "fish" that was sculpted from ocean jasper collected from the Ambolobozo Peninsula of Madagascar. It weighs just over 25 lbs and the base has been cut flat to display on any flat surface without the use of a stand.

Ocean jasper is a rare type of silicified rhyolite (considered both an agate and a jasper), mined in a single location on the Ambolobozo Peninsula of northern Madagascar. The deposits are found on the coastline, hence the name, and can only be reached by boat and mined during low tide. The deposit formed as a rhyolite flow, but has been completely silicified. The rhyolitic eyes or orbs come in an astonishing array of colors and color combinations. The backgrounds can be white, pink, green, red, or yellow. Botryoidal formations as well as white and deep green druzy are also common.

Jasper is a term that can be applied to an opaque variety of chalcedony. The opaqueness is due to a higher concentration of impurities mixed with silica/quartz compared to other varieties of silica, such as quartz or agates. Like agate it may form in a wide variety of colors, and is often multi-colored. In most cases, jasper forms when silica-rich fluids permeate throughout a soft sediment or volcanic debris deposit. The fluids then crystallize around the particles/impurities, resulting in a cementation process. Most often, the impurities present determine the coloration of the deposit following solidification, but other factors can play a role in the color of what is now considered a jasper.


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DETAILS
SPECIES
Chalcedony var. Jasper
LOCATION
Mine of Marovato, Ambolobozo Peninsula, Madagascar
SIZE
14.3 x 10.6", weighs 25 lbs
CATEGORY
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#135760