Smoky Quartz Carving of a Hippo by Peter Muller


BrazilCarved from pale smoky quartz, this inquisitive hippo has upraised ears, wide black eyes, and carved whisker bumps on its snout. This stout fellow stands on a rounded base of rock crystal quartz. Measuring 11 x 7 x 5in (27.9 x 17.8 x 12.7cm); length 8 3/4in (22.9cm)
|Provenance: Purchased from Bonhams & Butterfields, Los Angeles, Natural History.Peter MullerPeter Mueller was born in 1952 near Lucerne, Switzerland. Following professional training in international banking he commenced a brilliant career in that field only to later be lured by the appeal of international travel—which lead him to live in Brazil in 1979. A chance encounter with a Brazilian carver of birds in 1984 inspired him to change his life's work. He established a workshop in semi-precious stone carvings that same year. His works are rich in unexpected beauty and surprising details. Naturally, no two carvings are identical. They are life-like reproductions of birds from the tropics and the Northern Hemisphere, hand-fabricated from natural colored precious stones from all over the world. The bases are hand-picked by Peter from several tons of rough, including Brazilian tourmalines and quartzes from eleven different mines, as well as many other rare minerals from his adopted country. Familiar with the work of Idar-Oberstein carvers since his childhood, Peter has made annual trips there over the last thirty years to learn new carving techniques. These skills are then imparted to his crew of carvers in Brazil, now considered to be the best trained craftsmen in that country. Peter Müller's lapidary work has been the subject of a number of articles including: Rock and Gem Magazine, May 2000 and Wildlife Art Magazine, March/April 2002.