David Batz Ceramic Basket

Ivory Bracelet

This is a vintage hand-carved Eskimo carved bracelet by Inuit artist J. Omiak of Teller, Alaska. It features ten rectangular beads, five of which are delicately carved in high relief of Arctic animals -- an Arctic fox, a walrus, a polar bear, a whale and a seal. The animals display scrimshaw accents filled with black pigment. The bracelet is signed on the interior "J. Omiak" with black pigment.  

This bracelet is strung on white elastic cording, and measures about two-inches its the interior. It measures about 2-3/4-inches in diameter overall on the exterior.

David Walsh: Old Growth Redwood Bowl

"G+ Bowl 12184" is a signed and numbered hand-turned bowl made from figured Old-Growth Redwood. It measures 4" at its widest diameter and 5.5" tall at its highest point.

The Old-Growth Redwood David Walsh uses is sustainably-sourced, reclaimed California Redwood stumps that were left by the first loggers of the late 19th Century. Some of these trees were alive over 2,500 years ago, and over-logging has increased the scarcity of this precious wood. David Walsh's pieces are made of all-heartwood Old-Growth Redwood, which is extremely resistant to decay and insects. The wood has remained perfect even after lying outdoors for up to 140 years. Because of this, the color is much darker and the wood harder. In some pieces, the exterior surface has developed a lovely black color from the exposure to the elements. Owning a piece of Old-Growth Redwood means having a part of natural history that will last far into the future.

Navajo Buttons

Jane Glass Enameled Copper Plate

Megaledon Tooth

Lemon Shark Tooth Pendant

Campo de Cielo Meteorite

Weight 495 gm. ; 2 x 2 x 1.25-inches;  1.1 pounds

History and Lore of the "Campo del Cielo" Meteorites:

Basic Information :

Location: Cielo, Gran Chaco Gualamba, Argentina -- about 500 miles North-Northwest of Buenos Aries. Latitude 27 degrees 39 minutes South, Longitude 61 degrees 44 minutes West.

Structural Class: Coarse octahedrite, Og, Widmanstatten bandwidth 3.0 ±0.6 mm.

Chemical Class: Group I, 6.68% Ni, 0.43% Co, 0.25% P, 87 ppm Ga, 407 ppm Ge, 3.6 ppm Ir.

Time of Fall: 4,000-6,000 years ago

History:

The first record of the Campo was in 1576. A Spanish governor learned of the iron from Natives who believed that it had fallen from Heaven. The governor sent an expedition under the command of Captain de Miraval who brought back a few pieces of a huge iron mass he called "Meson de Fierro" (large table of iron).

The location of the find was the "Campo del Cielo" (field of the sky or Heaven) -- a fitting name for the location of a meteorite. Since the Natives believed that the irons fell from Heaven, the name may have come from the meteorites. The area is an open brush-covered plain that has little water and no other rocks -- very good country in which to locate meteorites.

The next record of Campo De Cielo meteorites was about 200 years later in the late 1770s. The Spanish thought some pieces might be silver ore, but once they tried to process them, they found that the pieces were iron. A Spanish navy lieutenant excavated one huge specimen which he believed weighed 14-18 tons. This may have been the "Meson de Fierro." He left he mass in place and it was not seen again -- or was it?

In the 1800s, more smaller irons were found. A pair of flintlock pistols reportedly made of this material were given to President James Monroe. However, later analyses showed that the iron was not meteoritic. In the 1900s, systematic exploration revealed many more large masses -- however, the "Meson de Fierro" remained lost.

In 1992, American meteorite dealer Robert Haag was arrested by Argentine authorities while transporting a 37-ton meteorite from the area. Haag had purchased the mass from a local person who claimed ownership. Unfortunately for him, the authorities disagreed. Haag was released and the huge meteorite remains in Argentina. Whether this is the famous "Meson de Fierro" remains for speculation.

Date of the Fall:

Scientists have attempted to date the Campo fall by carbon-dating charred wood found in the craters. Dates of 5800 years (plus or minus 200 years) and 3950 years (plus or minus 90 years) have been obtained. These dates are consistent with the Native oral tradition that the irons "fell from Heaven."

Many of the Campo meteorites have been highly rusted and corroded by terrestrial chlorides -- however some have significant areas of relatively fresh fusion crust. This is seen as an indicator of a fall in the not-too-distant past.

Structure of the Campo del Cielo:

The Campo del Cielo is described as a "polycrystalline coarse octahedrite." At three mm, the "Widmanstatten bands" are thicker than those at Canyon Diablo or Odessa -- but still thin enough to have the same coarse octahedrite classification.

The mass was composed of large austenite crystals from 5-50 cm in size. On break-up, the fragments were cold-worked like those at Sikhote-Alin and Gibeon. It has been hypothesized that the original body was tabular in shape and broke up on entry into the atmosphere.

Chemistry of the Campo del Cielo

The Campo del Cielo is classified as being in "Group I" -- 6.68% Ni, 0.43% Co, 0.25% P, 87 ppm Ga, 407 ppm Ge, 3.6 ppm Ir. Almost all of the remaining portion of the meteorite is iron.

The important minerals are:

Kamacite -- this iron-nickel alloy makes about 90 percent of specimens in finger-size and width crystals. "Neumann bands" are common.

Taenite and plessite, the other iron-nickel alloy constituents are found at "grain boundaries."

Schreibersite is uncommon.

Troilite is found aggregates with graphite and silicates.

Petrified Wood from The Petrified Forest, Collected in 1964

I am not the original owner, just referencing the note taped to it (this was owned by a local antiquities dealer and I picked this up at a local auction of his items). Note says "Petrified wood from Petrified Forest in Arizona, 1964. Assume the date is when it was found. 

Weighs 1 lb-12 oz. 

Measures approximately - 2 3/8" high and a little more than 3" in diameter.

David Walsh: Live Edge Black Walnut Turned Bowl

David Walsh is a Pennsylvania-based artist and woodworker. His work has won multiple awards and has been featured and sold in galleries throughout the United States, including the Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian. A lifelong woodworker, He first started woodturning in 1998 and quickly gained a following as "David Walsh, The Bowlmaker." As of 2016, He has turned over 13,000 signed and numbered bowls that range in size from miniature at 1.5-inches in diameter to enormous at a 26-inch diameter.

One of Walsh's signature woods, American black walnut is found in the Eastern United States. A recognizable and premium domestic hardwood, black walnut is often used for high-end furniture, interior paneling, veneer and wood turnings. The heartwood ranges from a light pale brown to a rich dark chocolate brown, sometimes taking a reddish, purple or gray cast. The sapwood ranges from a pale yellow-gray to nearly white. When both are incorporated into a piece, the visual effect is quite striking. Another feature of black walnut are the figured grain patterns that occur such as curl, crotch and burl. Fans especially look for "feather crotch" figure, which is unique to the forks in a black walnut tree and is especially prized.

G+ Bowl 12767 is a signed and numbered hand turned bowl from Black Walnut. It measures 6" at its widest diameter and 5" tall at its highest point.

Awards and Recognition:

• Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian - work chosen to offer for purchase during a 6-month exhibition on the History and the Art of Woodturning after a nationwide search was conducted.
• Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen Show (Juried).