109g Gabbro – Blackwater, Lavender Light, Styx – 5.0 x 3.6 x 3.3 cm

Among waters, none did the Greek gods swear by with such unwavering oath as that of the Styx. So Hesiod reports: Whoever among them broke such an oath lay for an entire year without breath or voice, and afterward was banished for nine years from the council of the Immortals. The river itself formed the boundary to the Underworld, black and silent. On its banks waited the shadows of the dead for the crossing. The ferry fare for Charon, a silver obol, was placed in their mouths. In this skull the river seems to stand still. The deep black carries pale, lilac-blue islands, like pale shadows on dark water, whose edges softly fade into blue. In between, occasional silver reflections flash, at one spot more broadly as if there lay the coin for the last crossing there. Geologically, gabbro also comes from the depths. It forms from the same melt as basalt, but does not cool at the surface; it cools slowly deep within the Earth's crust. Therefore its crystals grow large and well visible. Gabbro forms a large part of the lower oceanic crust, the hidden foundation beneath the world’s seas. Its name comes from the small town of Gabbro in Tuscany. Material: Gabbro (trade name Indigo Gabbro) – dark base mass (pyroxene/amphibole) with lilac-blue feldspar patches Origin: Madagascar (region where Indigo Gabbro is found) Dimensions: 5.0 x 3.6 x 3.3 cm Weight: 109 g Special features: purple-blue, partly blue-edged feldspar patches on deep black ground; occasional silvery-metallic reflections, at one spot more extensive (probably mica or iron-titanium oxides)

Estimate:$1.12

View all items fromCatawikiorEthnographic