Cockatoo pair carved from citrine on a smoky quartz point from Brazil

A pair of cockatoos made of polished citrine, mounted on a naturally grown smoky quartz point from Brazil. The honey-yellow birds sit as if on a natural branch; the composition combines sculpture and mineral in one piece.

Citrine and smoky quartz are both varieties of quartz and share the hexagonal crystal structure. Citrine contains traces of trivalent iron as a coloring element, while smoky quartz contains aluminum plus natural radiation exposure from radioactively enriched host rocks. In Brazil's deposits, both varieties often grow together.

The cutting work on the birds follows a long tradition of Brazilian stone sculptures. With a Mohs hardness of 7, citrine is hard enough for detailed figural cuts yet can still be worked without micro-fissures. Feathers, beak, and eyes are handcrafted.

The smoky quartz point serving as the base is a naturally grown crystal whose form supports the sculpture. The combination can be read as a curatorial decision: the wildness of the natural form merges with the precision of the sculpture.

A piece from the intersection of mineralogy and sculpture, suitable for collectors who appreciate figurative mineral art alongside classic raw specimens.