Quartz of Arkansas: Geology, History & Legend

New Book with Exhibit Catalog University of Arkansas Press Crystals in Art: Ancient to Today Crystals in Art is the first exhibition of its kind to explore the complex and varied connections between crystal and art throughout the world, spanning history, and geography. October 2019 to January 2020 Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas USA Q U A R T Z of A R K A N S A S Geology, History and Legend The Chapter by Tom Paradise PhD, MS, FGA, GG University of Arkansas Department of Geosciences The QUARTZ of ARKANSAS: Geology, History and Legend -------------------------------------_____-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By T. R. Paradise, PhD, MS, GG, FGA University of Arkansas, Department of Geosciences Arkansas Geology The word 'crystal' is derived from the ancient Greek word κρύος (krýos) for 'frost', but comes from the ancient Greek κρύσταλλος (krýstallos) for 'clear ice', and later in Greece as 'rock crystal'. Composed of silica, the building block of Arkansas' rock crystals, it represents the most abundant crystal-forming mineral in our planet's continental crust. In its purest form as silicon dioxide (SiO2), quartz crystals epitomize rare and beautiful gem materials, and the gleaming crystals from Arkansas are some of the most coveted on Earth. Its mineral form, quartz includes two distinct groups: cryptocrystalline and macrocrystalline. Cryptocrystalline or 'hidden crystals' are silicate rocks with nearly invisible crystal structures that include gem materials like jasper, agate, bloodstone, and carnelian. It is the macroscrystalline type however, that comprises those minerals with visible crystals that include citrine, amethyst, and rock quartz -- the prize of Arkansas's Ouachita Mountains. The Ouachita Mountains extend from Central Arkansas into Eastern Oklahoma and represent one of the most important sources of quartz crystals on Earth (Figure 1) producing large quantities of crystals for more than 200 years (Kunz 1890). Although spectacular quartz crystals have been found across the North America, Arkansas is the sole site where large-scale mining of quartz crystals operates. Most of these mines are located in Montgomery County, however increasingly mines are found in adjacent counties (i.e. Saline, Garland). Rivaled only by Brazil and Madagascar in the 19th Century, records indicate that mining has been active in the Ouachitas since the 1850s. The prominent gemologist for Tiffany & Company, George Frederick Kunz (1890) wrote that Arkansas' crystal mining generated more than $10,000 in 1898. 2 In Garland County, a rock crystal arrowhead was found at an archaeological site dating to 9000BC. Various artifacts have since been identified across Arkansas however, rock crystal mining has only been recorded in the region in the past two centuries. Commissioned by Thomas Jefferson to explore and chronicle the Washita River and hot springs in Arkansas, trip leaders William Dunbar and George Hunter made references to quartz crystals from the Little Missouri River Valley in what was then the Arkansas' Ouachita Mountains (c. 1804). In 1819, the explorer-geographer Henry Rowe Schoolcraft wrote, “One of the most noted localities of this mineral west of the Mississippi River is the Hot Springs of Ouachita in Arkansaw Territory. At this place numerous pieces of quartz have been found, very pure and transparent, and beautifully crystallized" (1819). Then in 1930, Ocus Stanley started modern quartz mining in the Mount Ida area in Montgomery County, with as many as 500 people employed there at the height of mining operations by 1980 -- considered the peak of quartz mining in Arkansas Nichols (1999). The Ouachita Fold and Thrust Belt represents an important orogenic, or mountainbuilding belt in North America, and the birthplace of Arkansas' rock crystals. This mountainous region extends 220 miles from Arkansas into eastern Oklahoma, and is underlain by an extensive anticline with its oldest beds of sandstone and shale found at its middle (Paradise 2012). The Ouachita Mountains are composed of highly deformed strata dating from 300 to 500 million years ago (Cambrian to Pennsylvanian). However, quartz crystal development is an epigenetic process occurring after the emplacement of the rock; Ouachita quartz growth occurred 240-280 million years ago (Engel 1951). It is through silica-rich hydrothermal vapor, liquids, and movement that the crystals grow over millions of years. Each crystal's growth begins at the simple molecular stage enlarging as more silica is added. When silica saturation, temperatures, and pressures vary, atoms then combine in a variety of atomic arrangements and crystal shapes. (Figure 2) As theories of quartz crystal development emerged in the 19th century, laboratory research confirmed its hydrothermal growth when in 1845, Karl von Schafhäutl recorded the first micro-crystalline quartz synthesis through a hydrothermal process using a Papin Vessel (pressure cooker). His process employed a silica-rich, high-pressure aqueous environment that was similar to the natural 3 process found the Arkansas quartz crystal occurrence (Von Schafhäutl 1845). It was this pioneering investigation that confirmed early geologic theories of quartz crystal growth. Arkansas' quartz crystals are naturally found in pockets or vugs inside quartz-rich veins in weathered sandstone, stained by iron oxides that produce a characteristic brown color. In other quartz-producing areas (i.e. Brazil) these crystals may form in exceptionally large crystal pockets or pegmatites that take shape during the final phase of cooling magma. Pegmatites are rare in Arkansas, although sizeable crystals have been recorded since the early 1800s, some up to 300 pounds (Kunz 1892, Engel 1951). In smaller veins, the quartz develops into whitish seams, while larger veins enable the growth of larger relatively colorless and transparent crystals. Distinctive of Arkansas quartz crystals is the Dauphiné (doh-FEEN-eh) habit or surface form. Forming from the hexagonal crystal family, quartz crystals typically develop in six-sided prisms. The Dauphiné habit displays one or two enlarged rhombic faces of the prism terminal; it was named after Dauphiné, the Alpine region near Grenoble (Smith 1996) (Figure 3). Other quartz regions in the US (i.e. California, New York) rarely exhibit the Dauphiné as often as the Arkansas rock crystal. Kunz discussed widespread mining in Arkansas with crystal-lined cavities occasionally exceeding 30' by 6'. "Wagonloads of these crystals were taken to Hot Springs and Little Rock by the farmers who do considerable blasting to secure them" (Kunz 1892: 110). He commented about the colorless nature and transparency of rock crystal in New York, Colorado, and Arkansas, however regarding the Ouachita quartz, he wrote that … 'Usually only half of the crystal is clear' (Kunz: 112, 1892). The most sought-after crystals are colorless and clear, although some may contain minor brownish limonite inclusions. Milky crystals are collected if the habit is clearly defined, and some may be artificially irradiated to produce a dark grey, smoky color. Surface characteristics can include parallel striations perpendicular to the crystal prism, while surface irregularities or habit structures, common in rock quartz from other regions (i.e. Tessin habit), are relatively absent in the Arkansas crystals (Smith 1996). In mineralogy and gemology, quartz is relatively difficult to scratch, with a Mohs scale hardness of 7 (between apatite: 6 and topaz: 8) and the measure of brilliance -- its refractive index -- of 1.55 between feldspar (moonstone): 1.54 and beryl (aquamarine): 1.56. 4 As a gemstone, quartz represents one of the most varied gems with macrocrystal varieties of citrine (orange), amethyst (purple), smoky (grey), and rose (pink) in addition to numerous microcrystal varieties including jasper (deep red), sard (brown), carnelian (orange), and aventurine (green). Nonetheless, through history it was rock crystal in its colorless, transparent form that has been so widely coveted, and few sites in North America regularly produce such brilliant specimens as the Arkansas crystals. In 1967, the Arkansas Legislature made the rock quartz crystal the official State Mineral (Paradise 2012). Legends, Superstitions, and Use Quartz in its purest, crystalline form has been used to make computer chips, pulse regulators for accurate time-keeping, oscillators for radios, and finely polished blades as medical scalpels. However, since its earliest days it has been beauty and value as mineral specimens, gemstones, and carved gem materials that have driven allure and need. In early references, rock crystal was used for its attributed mystical and healing powers. Although carved quartzes (i.e. carnelian, agate) were widely used as cylinder seals for identification and administrative purposes in Babylonia and Assyria from 2500-500 BC, it wasn't until the 6th Century BC that rock crystal was unearthed in Egypt as carved scarab talismans and intaglios. This represents one of the earliest regular uses of rock crystal (Kunz 1938: 122). During the height of the Roman Empire, Pliny (79AD) wrote of a great 'Opalus' owned by Senator Honius that was the size of a walnut and worth 200,000 sesterces (c. $500,000 in 2019). It was written to have sparkled 'with the brilliance of rainbows'. However, the only opal source during Pliny's time was Hungary which had no commercial ties or trading links to the Mediterranean or Western Europe. Kunz (1938: 145) speculated that this was not opal, but iridescent or iris quartz crystal, which displays a distinctive 'rainbow brilliance' due to an internal fissure, fracture, or crack that causes light interference and internal rainbows. If so, this represents one of the earliest references to quartz as a proper gemstone; many of Arkansas' crystals are also prized for their iridescence. th In the 13 century, the medieval grimoire, Raziel's Book of Wings elaborated on the magical forces created with gem intaglios. The secret to these mystical powers was the combination of a specific design carved on a specific gemstone. The prominent jeweler and 5 occultist, Isidore Kozminsky (1922) explained that in this tome of practical magic, iris rock crystal had mystical powers when engraved with… "… a man bearing armor holding a bow and arrow, will protect both the wearer and the place where it may be from evil." Often associated with the world of charlatans and sideshows, the use of quartz crystals or fragments for fortune-telling has been recorded as early as 2000 BC in China, Turkey, and Ethiopia. However, in the first century AD, Pliny the Elder wrote of the use of small crystal spheres or crystallum orbis in divination by specularii; such crystal balls are the first known, unearthed in Roman funerary chambers from Northern Europe to North Africa (Lecouteaux 2012). One of the earliest clean crystal spheres (2' diameter) was discovered in 1653 in the tomb of the Merovingian ruler, Childeric I (437-481AD) in present day Belgium. Although legends of crystal balls become widespread by the 7th century, the writings of (Saint) Augustine of Hippo in the The City of God (436AD) will influence the Church to prohibit scrying and divination with crystals and balls (Kunz 1938). Nevertheless, since working and polishing the harder quartz crystals was more demanding than molding or shaping glass, once bulk lead glassmaking was invented in the 17th Century, glass 'crystal balls' became a cheaper and popular substitute to the mineral sphere (Genge 2000) (Figure 4) . The Honours of Scotland (1543-1651) represent the oldest surviving crown jewels in the British Isles and contain the Scepter of Scotland. Crafted in Italy in 1494 for Pope Alexander VI to present to James IV, then redesigned in 1536, the central jewel of the elaborate scepter is a quartz crystal sphere measuring roughly 8cm. Crystal ball scrying was also a pastime and resource used by Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) with her royal advisor, John Dee, who would hold sessions together with Edward Kelley, an itinerant soothsayer (Jones 1880). (Figure 5) One of the most famous rock crystal spheres still in use is the Curraghmore House Crystal Ball in Waterford, Ireland. Purported to have pilfered in the Holy Land during the First Crusade (1096-1099) by Godfrey of Bouillon, the first Ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was traded to the prominent de la Poers Family of Waterford, Ireland in the 12th century to follow family lines to end up in the possession of the Beresford Family (as the Marquis of Waterford). Since its earliest days it has been suspended by a silver strap and chains 6 and never set in a stand, podium, or held. It was exhibited in 1853 in Dublin at the Great Industrial Exhibition but been rarely seen since (Power 1910). The family's 'healing crystal' however, has been ascribed to the Poers-Bereford family's good fortune since its acquisition and was last used in the 1960s to treat the Curraghmore Estate livestock for footand-mouth disease (Lecouteaux 2012) (Figure 6). In Japan's Muromachi Period (14th–16th C.) a wall niche with a raised pedestal, or tokonoma became popular in homes, and was used to exhibit objects of importance or mystical influence. It is in the Tokonoma that the commonplace exhibition of quartz crystals, or balls called 'tama' are described. Earlier Japanese legends explained that small quartz crystals were 'the breath of the White Dragon', while larger crystals were 'saliva from the Violet Dragon'; rock crystal or suisho was considered among the most valuable of all gemstones at that time (Alden & Wells 1869). It is astounding that the largest known, flawless, colorless crystal ball is 48.5kg (106.7lbs) and 12.9" in diameter, on display in the National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. (Figure 7). However familiar is the notion of the crystal ball, it was the use of carved quartz amulets, statuettes, and vessels that has directed its use for more than a thousand years. In its earliest references, it was its colorless clarity and brilliance that linked its power to clairvoyance and divination. It was widely used by scryers and fortune-tellers to predict or see into the future, or as a dowsing object to hold over a map, image, or object for prophecy. Dowsing was, and is still used is to focus or amplify thought on the movement or target of the crystal and its refraction during movement to reveal mysteries (Lecouteaux 2012). Legends thrive of ancient soothsayers staring into calm water (in ponds, bowls, or vessels) to examine its motion, patterns, and ripples as auguries and omens. It was this act of hydromancy that led to associating rock crystal's transparent brilliance to bestowing to the bearer powers of 7 'prophecy, prescience', and 'purity, freedom of sin, and pure faith' (Kunz 1938). In addition, quartz's relative hardness (although softer than corundum, spinel, beryl, and diamond) was often attached to magical forces of strength and athletic prowess (Lecouteaux 2012). When worn around the neck while sleeping, quartz crystals 'dissolved all spells of witchcraft' while ensuring good dreams (Jones 1880: 15) and even vessels carved of quartz were believed to bestow the owners with great power, fortune and influence; the DeMedici Family of Florence commissioned a number of extraordinary carved quartz objets d'art over their reign of Florence, Italy from 1434 to 1527 (Kunz 1915, 1938) (Figure 8). The 16th century astrologer and mineralogist, Petrus Arlensis de Scudalupis attributed quartz crystal powers to the Moon explaining that peering into a crystal bowl filled with water, or into the crystal itself would grant protection, strength, and power when reflecting the full Moon. While in Captain Edward Belcher's expedition to Southeast Asia on HMS Samarang in the 1840s, the Sultan of Gunung Tabur (now East Kalimantan) gifted him a 'polished globe of quartz, of infinite value indescribable power' (Jones 1880: 15). Although quartz crystal powers have been attributed to the Moon, references to its increased powers from Sunlight may be found in old texts as well. A 17th grimoire explained the rites for using rock crystal for conjuring spirits: '… Take the cristall stone, most clear, without a craise, wrape about a pece of lether ssaying, "In the name of the Holy Trinity" holde the cristalle in the beam of the Sun, then you will sie the spirite appeiring himselfe then saying "I conjure thee spirit, by the vertue of all things aforesayd in an honest and decente forme apparelled some in blew, some in yealowe." (Jones 1880: 34). Rock crystal was also considered a strong aphrodisiac. When a crystal fragment or quartz cabochon was set in a ring constructed of 'twelve times its weight in gold it renders the wearer irresistible to love, needs, and demands' (Jones 1880). Furthermore, the power of quartz is enhanced with specific images carved into the polished stone or crystal face: a lion-faced man with eagle claws, or a man holding a wand or staff, a two-headed dragon 'win the disposition of either sex, obtain obedience, increase resources, and gather immense riches' (Lecouteaux 2012). In the realms of science, art, and legend, few materials embody the breadth of beauty, durability, wonder, history, and mystery as quartz rock crystal. From its origins deep in the Earth, to its use in art, adornment, decoration, and augury, quartz crystals have been and will continue to be cherished precious objects that satisfy the human need for the rare, mysterious, valuable, and beautiful. w 8 References Alden, H.M and Wells, T.B. (eds) (1879). 'Japanese Rock Crystal' in Harper's Magazine, Volume 59:351 (August) 405-411. Dunbar, W. and Hunter, G. (1807). The Hunter-Dunbar Journals. American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia. Engel, A.E.J. (1951). Quartz Crystal Deposits of Western Arkansas. USGS Bulletin 973-B: 224pp Genge, N. (2000). Book of Shadows: The Unofficial "Charmed" Companion. Three Rivers Press, NYC: 176pp. Jones, W. (1880). Precious Stones: their History and Mystery. Bentley & Sons, London: 376pp. Kozminsky, I. (1922) The Magic and Science of Jewels & Stones. Knickerbocker Press, NYC. Kunz, G.F. (1892) Gems & Precious Stones of North America. Dover reprint (1967): 367pp. Kunz, G.F. (1915). The Magic of Jewels & Charms. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia: 422pp. Kunz, G.F. (1938). The Curious Lore of Precious Stones. Halcyon House, New York: 406pp. Lecouteaux, C. (2012). A Lapidary of Sacred Stones. Inner Traditions, Rochester, Vermont: 360pp. Paradise, T.R. (2012). Arkansas: an Illustrated Atlas. Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Little Rock. 62pp. Pliny the Elder (79AD). Naturalis Historia. Translation by K.F. Mayhoff, 1906. Teubner, London. Volume X: Book 37. Power, P. (1910). 'On a crystal ball, the property of the Marquis of Waterford, preserved at Curraghmore'. Journal of the Waterford & Southeast of Ireland Archæological Society, Volume XIII:39-43. Schoolcraft, H.R. (1821). Journal of a Tour into the Interior of Missouri and Arkansaw. Phillips & Company, London. Smith, A.E. (1996). Collecting Arkansas Minerals: A Reference and Guide. Little Rock: Ream Publications. Von Schafhäutl, K.E. (1845) Gelehrte Anzeigen. Royal Bavarian Academy of Sciences, volume 20:577-596. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Thomas R. Paradise is a university distinguished professor and certified gemologist at the University of Arkansas in the Department of Geosciences. He comes from a diverse background in gemology, geology, geography, and cartography. He holds degrees in Geology and Physical Geography (BS, MS, PhD) from the Mackay School of Mines (Nevada), and Georgia and Arizona State Universities. He earned degrees in gemology from the Gemological Institute of America, Los Angeles (GIA) and the Gemmological Association of Great Britain, London (FGA). He is a certified Registered Jeweler (RJ) and Gemologist-Appraiser (CGA) with the American Gem Society. He also holds appraiser status with the American and International Society of Appraisers, and the Society of Jewelry Historians. Through his research on gemology, geology, and geography, he has published more than 60 articles, reports, atlases, and book chapters. His expertise has been requested by agencies including US Departments of State and Defense, UNESCO, Kingdoms of Morocco and Morocco, Vatican City, and Italy. Since the 1980s, his legal expertise on gemstones and gem materials has exceeded 1,000 hours of testimony for US agencies, firms, and private clients. 9