This smaller sized set of stone bookends are cut from one of the single most interesting of the petrified logs that we imported a few years ago from Burma. We found a new source for quality petrified wood and have been off on a series of adventures trying to secure some of these new petrified logs! It took several trips and a lot of logistics but we finally managed to get the shipment here to work into specimens in our shop! The colors are clean and contemporary and still carry the ancient look of fossil wood millions of years in the making! It's particularly well preserved and gemmy and represents some of the finest fossil wood found anywhere on the planet! It looks very much like some of the well preserved hardwoods found here in the Pacific Northwest, but it comes from halfway around the world in central Burma! The species appears similar to modern Basralocus and I'm fairly comfortable saying this tree is an ancient relative even with my amateur identification skills. This beautiful set of bookends has a very clean, professional but antiquated presence and they'd look fabulous just about any place you chose to put them to work. I've polished this nicely preserved fossil wood into a beautiful, perfectly prepared set of butterfly cut bookends complete with felted edges with our signature lapidary work. It is entirely possible that this is all of the stone we'll ever be able to obtain from this location, so don't miss a chance at something truly unique and beautiful for your collection!
This is a really gemmy set of bookends cut from the center of a nice, larger sized petrified log that came from halfway around the world where it was uncovered in farmlands in northern Myanmar. While these adventures provide a certain degree of color in my own life, I ultimately do it for my own passion for these amazing stones and the ancient stories they tell. I have not been able to date any of these logs yet (but I will continue to work on it and share that info when I have it). It is my sincere hope that a rare and uncommon specimen for your own collection as the fruits of these early endeavors to find a new source will be something you can enjoy as well. Trust me, it sounds like a lot more fun than it is as it took my body a couple of solid weeks to recover from each trip to a country that has only recently begun to open itself up to western trade through a series of highly published political and economic changes that they are still struggling with.
It is always difficult to find a fair price for something new, made even more complicated in this case by the uncertainty of whether I'll ever be able to obtain any more of it. The direct costs involved in obtaining the small amount of material I was able to fly home with as samples cannot be recovered from the stone I obtained, even at the price point of a rare collectible. Fortunately, I was successful in my attempts to import enough raw material to cut in my shop and produce some truly unique and absolutely beautiful natural pieces of fossil gem artwork! It was more than a little trying to navigate the very complex trade requirements of Myanmar to purchase a larger shipment of these stones, but after months of navigating red tape I am finally able to offer a nice variety of choice, rare specimens at an affordable price.
Myanmar miners gather petrified wood from several locations in the country but the vast majority of it is exported to China and very little is ever seen in the west. The wood is finely preserved and richly colored. Most of the species I've seen now have all been tropical hardwoods save for the occasional petrified palm. The wood is very hard and highly silicified and takes a remarkably good finish, something that sets it clearly apart from the softer but much more abundant Indonesian petrified wood. If you haven't seen any of this amazing fossil stone then these incredible bookends would be a bold start!
We select only the showiest pieces of petrified wood and other gemstones to cut into bookends. These pieces are carefully cut in our shop so that you end up with a perfectly matched pair, one agate piece is the mirror image of the other. Of course, there are plenty of differences in the two halves, but the photo should let you appreciate how well we do this. The bookends sit perfectly upright and are completely square to one another. They are felted on both the sides and bottom to protect the books and the shelf. We make sure they are 100% functional on top of being beautiful! Of course, these agates proudly show the perfect polish that the Sticks-in-Stones rockshop has dedicated itself to. The finish looks poured on - but there's nothing there except rock!! This is the only set of bookends we have cut from this location so don't miss this fabulous natural treasure!
Each half measures about 5" tall & 4 3/4" wide at the widest spot on the polished face. They're cut about 1 3/4" thick. Weight for this set is about 5.76 lbs. which makes these bookends suitable for smaller books like travel books and paperbacks or even something to organize mail and bills.
What better way to accentuate a desk, bookshelf or your mantle than with this unbelievable natural work of art!
This is a really gemmy set of bookends cut from the center of a nice, larger sized petrified log that came from halfway around the world where it was uncovered in farmlands in northern Myanmar. While these adventures provide a certain degree of color in my own life, I ultimately do it for my own passion for these amazing stones and the ancient stories they tell. I have not been able to date any of these logs yet (but I will continue to work on it and share that info when I have it). It is my sincere hope that a rare and uncommon specimen for your own collection as the fruits of these early endeavors to find a new source will be something you can enjoy as well. Trust me, it sounds like a lot more fun than it is as it took my body a couple of solid weeks to recover from each trip to a country that has only recently begun to open itself up to western trade through a series of highly published political and economic changes that they are still struggling with.
It is always difficult to find a fair price for something new, made even more complicated in this case by the uncertainty of whether I'll ever be able to obtain any more of it. The direct costs involved in obtaining the small amount of material I was able to fly home with as samples cannot be recovered from the stone I obtained, even at the price point of a rare collectible. Fortunately, I was successful in my attempts to import enough raw material to cut in my shop and produce some truly unique and absolutely beautiful natural pieces of fossil gem artwork! It was more than a little trying to navigate the very complex trade requirements of Myanmar to purchase a larger shipment of these stones, but after months of navigating red tape I am finally able to offer a nice variety of choice, rare specimens at an affordable price.
Myanmar miners gather petrified wood from several locations in the country but the vast majority of it is exported to China and very little is ever seen in the west. The wood is finely preserved and richly colored. Most of the species I've seen now have all been tropical hardwoods save for the occasional petrified palm. The wood is very hard and highly silicified and takes a remarkably good finish, something that sets it clearly apart from the softer but much more abundant Indonesian petrified wood. If you haven't seen any of this amazing fossil stone then these incredible bookends would be a bold start!
We select only the showiest pieces of petrified wood and other gemstones to cut into bookends. These pieces are carefully cut in our shop so that you end up with a perfectly matched pair, one agate piece is the mirror image of the other. Of course, there are plenty of differences in the two halves, but the photo should let you appreciate how well we do this. The bookends sit perfectly upright and are completely square to one another. They are felted on both the sides and bottom to protect the books and the shelf. We make sure they are 100% functional on top of being beautiful! Of course, these agates proudly show the perfect polish that the Sticks-in-Stones rockshop has dedicated itself to. The finish looks poured on - but there's nothing there except rock!! This is the only set of bookends we have cut from this location so don't miss this fabulous natural treasure!
Each half measures about 5" tall & 4 3/4" wide at the widest spot on the polished face. They're cut about 1 3/4" thick. Weight for this set is about 5.76 lbs. which makes these bookends suitable for smaller books like travel books and paperbacks or even something to organize mail and bills.
What better way to accentuate a desk, bookshelf or your mantle than with this unbelievable natural work of art!