6.4" Opal Hand Carved Crystal Realistic Skull

A realistic skull worked in opal. At 6.4 inches and 2367 g it wants a shelf of its own rather than a desk corner.

Quartz carries its inclusions and internal veiling into whatever is carved from it, so light entering the polished surface scatters before it returns. That is what gives a quartz carving depth rather than flatness.

The skull is the hardest test of a carver's eye, because everyone already knows what it should look like. The passages that take the longest are the ones you notice least: the transition from temple to cheekbone, and the way the teeth meet.

Item ID 2100227
Material 100% natural opal
Size 5.5 × 3.7 × 6.4 in (140 × 93 × 162 mm)
Weight 2367 g