Calcite in Matrix Carved Egg by Dieter Jerusalem


Idar-Oberstein, Germany The dark brown basalt matrix of the carved egg contrasts dramatically with the large, semi-translucent calcite spheres within its cavity. The mineral originates in India. Jerusalem is known for incorporating unusual mineral associations in his egg-form carvings and for their geode or vug cavities. Height 4 3/4in (12.7cm)
|Provenance: Purchased from Bonhams & Butterfields, Los Angeles, Natural History, May 16, 2004. Dieter Jerusalem Dieter Jerusalem is one of the great gemstone craftsmen of our time. Born in 1942 in Idar-Oberstein, Germany, he attended the renowned school for gem cutters there for three years together with Bernd Munsteiner, another famous lapidary artist. From 1957 to 1960 he apprenticed to one of the best-known lapidaries in Idar. Two years later in 1962, after a difficult training, he received his Master Lapidary Diploma, becoming the youngest master for gemstone cutting in Idar. The Jerusalem surname derives from the First Crusade. His first traceable ancestor was the Duke Baldwin the 2nd of Hennegau, Belgium, one of the first notables to reach the city of Jerusalem. The name Jerusalem was awarded to him in the year 1098 as an honor. Dieter Jerusalem started to cut stone eggs in his father's aterlier in the mid 1960s. At first, they worked closely in the style of Faberge. But soon, he began to "carve" out his own style and path in the lapidary field, so that today he is well known by collectors of gemstones and mineral eggs throughout the world Bounded to the tradtions of Idar-Oberstein, each mineral is cut so that its natural purity and beauty is brought out. Dieter Jerusalem is one of the great gemstone craftsmen of our time. Born in 1942 in Idar-Oberstein, Germany, he attended the renowned school for gem cutters there for three years together with Bernd Munsteiner, another famous lapidary artist. After further apprenticing and training, he received his Master Lapidary Diploma in 1962, becoming the youngest master of gemstone cutting in Idar. Dieter Jerusalem started to cut stone eggs in his father's atelier in the mid-1960s. At first, they worked closely in the style of Fabergé. But soon, he began to "carve" his own style and path in the lapidary field, so that today he is well known by collectors of gemstones and mineral eggs throughout the world.He is now retired and no longer produces gemstone carvings. Bounded to the traditions of Idar-Oberstein, each mineral is cut so that its natural purity and beauty is brought out. He only uses traditional cutting and carving techniques. As a gemstone "purist" he does not combine metalwork with his carvings, preferring to let the material speak for itself. Much of his time has been spent finding rare and unusual gemstone materials, especially from various exhausted deposits in Europe.