Small Malachite Slices (DRC)

Small Malachite Slices (DRC)

Mineral: Natural Malachite

Origin: L'Etoile Du Congo Mine (Star of the Congo Mine; Kalukuluku Mine), Lubumbashi, Haut-Katanga, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Color: Dark Green to Light Green

Treatment: None

Malachite Slice #1:

Approximate Dimensions: 4.8cm x 4.6cm x 0.7cm

Weight: 41g

Malachite Slice #2:

Approximate Dimensions: 6.6cm x 2.2cm x 0.8cm

Weight: 45g

Malachite Slice #3:

Approximate Dimensions: 6.2cm x 2.8cm x 0.8cm

Weight: 60g

10% of this purchase will be donated to The International Anti-Poaching Foundation (IAPF)

Malachite was used as a mineral pigment in green paints from antiquity until c. 1800. The pigment is moderately lightfast, sensitive to acids, and varying in color. This natural form of green pigment has been replaced by its synthetic form, verditer, among other synthetic greens.

Malachite is also used for decorative purposes.

A 17th-century Spanish superstition held that having a child wear a lozenge of malachite would help them sleep, and keep evil spirits at bay. It has also historically been worn for protection from lightning and contagious diseases and for health, success, and constancy in the affections. During the Middle Ages it was customary to wear it engraved with a figure or symbol of the Sun to maintain health and to avert depression.

In ancient Egypt the colour green (wadj) was associated with death and the power of resurrection as well as new life and fertility. Ancient Egyptians believed that the afterlife contained an eternal paradise, referred to as the "Field of Malachite", which resembled their lives but with no pain or suffering.

Sold Individually.

Color may vary in images and videos due to different lightings and angles.