Corsi Collection of Decorative Stones

view of stone 741

Corsi 741, approx. 145 x 73 x 40 mm, © Oxford University Museum of Natural History

OUMNH Number: 741  
Name and quarry location: Sicilian jasper, diaspro di Sicilia, from Sicily, Italy, and most probably from Giancavallo, Bisaquino, Grattieri, or Santa Caterina, all in the province of Palermo.  
Geological description: Brecciated jasper (ferruginous compact fine-grained quartz); brown/yellow/green translucent clasts in colourless crystalline quartz matrix. Yellow speckled 'clasts' and brown 'veins' are wax filler.  
Comments: From Sicily, Italy. It matches samples from ‘Giancavallo’ (Feudo di Giancavallo, near Bisaquino, Province of Palermo), ‘Gratteri’ or ‘Grattieri’(Gratteri, near Cefalù, Province of Palermo), and ‘Santa Catrini’ (the Sicilian dialect name for Santa Caterina), all in the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien. Agata di Gratteri is mentioned by Montana (1998). Tata (1772) refers to a sample 'carnicino languido' from '[Castro nuovo], ma nel luogo detto S. Catterina' , as well as samples from the 'Feudo Giancavallo di S. Maria del Bosco'.  
References: Jervis (1881) 193-318; Jervis (1889) 449-482; Montana & Briuccia (1998) 28; Price (2007) 246-247; Schmidt (2002); Tata (1772) 22, 29. Other examples: Naturhistorisches Museum Wien 741V, Ab7447, Nos. 94 and 82, no. 99.  
Further information:
 


Corsi's classification: Class 14. Quartz and its varieties; Species 5. Agate  
Corsi's text: 185.19 Agata delle Alpi  

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