Tiger's Eye Quartz Carving of a Lion


Attributed to Georg O.WildIdar-Oberstein, GermanyRetailed by Gumps, San Francisco, California The golden fur and mane of the King of the Jungle is successfully conveyed through the use of rich golden tiger's eye quartz. His eyes are set with brilliant-cut diamonds, the teeth formed of white agate and the tongue of pink rhodonite, unsigned. Measuring 6 3/4 x 3 x 2in (17.8 x 7.6 x 5.1cm)
|The cover of Gems and Minerals magazine, January 1969, featured both the carved nephrite rhinoceros as well as the tiger's eye lion in this auction. They were both the subject of an article regarding gem carvers of Idar-Oberstein, particularly Georg O. Wild.Provenance: Purchased from Bonhams & Butterfields, Los Angeles, Natural History, Sale 13327, Lot 8251.Georg O. Wild The name of Wild has a long history in the Idar-Oberstein lapidary field. The art of carving and engraving has been practiced in this family for over one hundred years. In 1839, one member of the family went to Paris to learn the art of cameo cutting. Another, Johann Karl Wild IX worked in St. Petersburg as a jeweler and engraver in the Fabergé workshops in Czarist Russia. Upon returning to Idar-Oberstein he founded his own enterprise from which sprang the firm of Georg O. Wild. Georg O. Wild was born in Idar-Oberstein on January 22, 1894. Inheriting his father's talent for engraving cameo cutting and carving stones, he started his own firm in 1921. Large numbers of his sculptures are now exhibited in the Idar-Oberstein museum and in various museums across the United States. Not only was he a gemstone carver, his gemological knowledge was equally considerable. In the United States he became particularly well-known for creating reproductions of Audobon birds in semi-precious stones. In France he executed some commissions in behalf of artist Georges Braque. Much of the carving of his animal figures was done by Wild himself, others by his assistants working in his atelier directly under his guidance. He died on November 23, 1975 at the age of 81. His business is now continued by his son, Klaus Eberhard Wild and by Manfred Weichel, his collaborator during his final years.