New Rock Crystal Pesh-kabz

Richard W · 28th February 2020, 03:51 PM

Basically glass is warm to the touch and crystalline materials are cold. Use your lips to see the difference. Glass warm, quartz cold. Any piece of glass can be used a comparison.
Quartz is doubly refractive: if you look through the stone at a spot on the other side the spot looks doubled. Glass does not do this.
Scratch tests are never recommended for precious objects: as mentioned above, glass can scratch glass, quartz will scratch quartz.
Any curious and helpful gemologist can check it and tell you with very little effort, and they should do it at no charge.
I was s professional gemologist for 39 years 😉

Jens Nordlunde · 5th March 2020, 03:58 PM

Marius,
According to the al-Sabah catalogue, your nice crystal hilt, is showing the head of an Arabian breed.

ariel · 6th March 2020, 05:20 AM

I thought about it, but we need an en face picture of the head.

Jens Nordlunde · 6th March 2020, 02:54 PM

You are right Ariel, here are two pictures attached, and according to the text, it is not only how the horse is holding/turning the ears, it also has something to do with the way the head is sculptured.
Presious Indian Weapons, and Other Princely Accoutrements. The al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait. Thames and Hudson, 2017. The author is Salam Kaoukji.
The one with the rubies is cat. no 67 and the other one is cat. no 67
No 67 is said to be a Marwari horse head and no 68 is said to be an Arabian horse head.
The same pictures can also be found in Treasury of The World, Jewelled Arts of India in the Age og the Mughals. Thames and Hudson, 2001. Here the authors are Manuel Keene and Salam Kaoukji. Nos. 8.18 and 8.19.

mariusgmioc · 7th March 2020, 05:14 PM

Very interesting!

However, mine seems to have bigger ears... maybe is a donkey?!

ariel · 7th March 2020, 09:15 PM

We are not looking for donkeys here:-)
The question is: Arabian or Marwari?

Jens Nordlunde · 8th March 2020, 10:54 AM

From the pictures shown in the catalogue, I would say it is an Arabian horse head.

6th March 2020, 02:54 PM	#4
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	You are right Ariel, here are two pictures attached, and according to the text, it is not only how the horse is holding/turning the ears, it also has something to do with the way the head is sculptured. Presious Indian Weapons, and Other Princely Accoutrements. The al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait. Thames and Hudson, 2017. The author is Salam Kaoukji. The one with the rubies is cat. no 67 and the other one is cat. no 67 No 67 is said to be a Marwari horse head and no 68 is said to be an Arabian horse head. The same pictures can also be found in Treasury of The World, Jewelled Arts of India in the Age og the Mughals. Thames and Hudson, 2001. Here the authors are Manuel Keene and Salam Kaoukji. Nos. 8.18 and 8.19. Attached Images

28th February 2020, 03:51 PM	#1
Richard W Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Amarillo Texas Posts: 21	Basically glass is warm to the touch and crystalline materials are cold. Use your lips to see the difference. Glass warm, quartz cold. Any piece of glass can be used a comparison. Quartz is doubly refractive: if you look through the stone at a spot on the other side the spot looks doubled. Glass does not do this. Scratch tests are never recommended for precious objects: as mentioned above, glass can scratch glass, quartz will scratch quartz. Any curious and helpful gemologist can check it and tell you with very little effort, and they should do it at no charge. I was s professional gemologist for 39 years 😉

5th March 2020, 03:58 PM	#2
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	Marius, According to the al-Sabah catalogue, your nice crystal hilt, is showing the head of an Arabian breed.

6th March 2020, 05:20 AM	#3
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	I thought about it, but we need an en face picture of the head.

7th March 2020, 05:14 PM	#5
mariusgmioc Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Austria Posts: 1,906	Very interesting! However, mine seems to have bigger ears... maybe is a donkey?!

7th March 2020, 09:15 PM	#6
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	We are not looking for donkeys here:-) The question is: Arabian or Marwari?

8th March 2020, 10:54 AM	#7
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	From the pictures shown in the catalogue, I would say it is an Arabian horse head.