Difference between revisions of "Oyster shell"

Latest revision as of 12:06, 24 January 2023

Native American necklace
MFA# 1985.457

Description

Shells from any marine mollusk of the family Ostreidae. Edible mollusks, such as the Ostrea virginica, found in the Gulf of Mexico and the Chesapeake Bay, account for most of the shells currently produced. Some mollusk shells, such as Abalone, Pearl oyster and mussel, have a hard iridescent inner layer. The iridescence is caused by the interference of light waves reflected between the thin overlapping layers. Pearl white, a white, Calcium carbonate pigment is made by either crushing pearls or oyster shells. Oyster shells are also crushed then calcined to produce a high grade of commercial Lime.

Mosaic cuff
MFA# 1998.57

Synonyms and Related Terms

coquille d'huitre (Fr.); écaille d'huitre (Fr.); concha de ostra (Port.); pearl white; oyster shell white

FTIR (MFA)

Raman (MFA)

Chemical structure

Risks

No significant hazards.
ThermoFisher: SDS

Physical and Chemical Properties

Reacts with acids to evolve carbon dioxide.
Aragonite is harder and denser than calcite
Fracture = uneven to splinter
Luster = greasy or pearly
Streak = white
Fluorescence = variable
Birefringence = strong (0.155) showing interference colors
Straight extinction

Mohs Hardness	3.5 - 4.0
Density	2.93-2.95 g/ml
Refractive Index	1.530 - 1.686

Resources and Citations

Gem Identification Lab Manual, Gemological Institute of America, 2016.
Wikipedia: Seashell Accessed Dec 2022.
R. J. Gettens, G.L. Stout, Painting Materials, A Short Encyclopaedia, Dover Publications, New York, 1966
Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)
R.D. Harley, Artists' Pigments c. 1600-1835, Butterworth Scientific, London, 1982
G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 132
Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, https://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[File:1985.457-SC62344.jpg|thumb|]]
+[[File:1985.457-SC62344.jpg|thumb|Native American necklace<br>MFA# 1985.457]]
 == Description ==
-Shells from any marine mollusk of the family ''Ostreidae''. Edible mollusks, such as the ''Ostrea virginica'', found in the Gulf of Mexico and the Chesapeake Bay, account for most of the shells currently produced. Pearl white, a white, [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=calcium carbonate calcium carbonate] pigment is made by either crushing pearls or oyster shells. Oyster shells are also crushed then calcined to produce a high grade of commercial [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=lime lime].
+Shells from any marine mollusk of the family ''Ostreidae''. Edible mollusks, such as the ''Ostrea virginica'', found in the Gulf of Mexico and the Chesapeake Bay, account for most of the shells currently produced. Some mollusk shells, such as [[abalone]], [[oyster shell|Pearl oyster]] and mussel, have a hard iridescent inner layer.  The iridescence is caused by the interference of light waves reflected between the thin overlapping layers. Pearl white, a white, [[calcium%20carbonate|calcium carbonate]] pigment is made by either crushing pearls or oyster shells. Oyster shells are also crushed then calcined to produce a high grade of commercial [[lime|lime]].
+[[File:1998.57-SC44151.jpg|thumb|Mosaic cuff<br>MFA# 1998.57]]
 == Synonyms and Related Terms ==
-coquille d'huitre (Fr.); caille d'huitre (Fr.); concha de ostra (Port.); pearl white; oyster shell white
+coquille d'huitre (Fr.); écaille d'huitre (Fr.); concha de ostra (Port.); pearl white; oyster shell white
+[[[SliderGallery rightalign|Aragonite 2.TIF~FTIR (MFA)|Aragonite (HU Min. Museum 116189), 50X, 785 nm copy.tif~Raman (MFA)|aragonite.jpg~Chemical structure]]]
-== Additional Images ==
+== Risks ==
+* No significant hazards.
-<gallery>
+* ThermoFisher: [https://www.fishersci.com/store/msds?partNumber=AC423510025&productDescription=CALCIUM+CARBONATE+99%2BACS+2.5KG&vendorId=VN00032119&countryCode=US&language=en SDS]
-File:1998.57-SC44151.jpg|
+== Physical and Chemical Properties ==
-</gallery>
+* Reacts with acids to evolve carbon dioxide.
+* Aragonite is harder and denser than calcite
+* Fracture = uneven to splinter
-== Authority ==
+* Luster = greasy or pearly
+* Streak = white
-* R. J. Gettens, G.L. Stout, R. J. Gettens, G.L. Stout, ''Painting Materials, A Short Encyclopaedia'', Dover Publications, New York, 1966
+* Fluorescence = variable
+* Birefringence = strong (0.155) showing interference colors
-* Ralph Mayer, Ralph Mayer, ''A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques'', Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)
+* Straight extinction
-* R.D. Harley, R.D. Harley, ''Artists' Pigments c. 1600-1835'', Butterworth Scientific, London, 1982
-* G.S.Brady, G.S.Brady, ''Materials Handbook'', McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971  Comment: p. 132
-* Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000
+{| class="wikitable"
+|-
+! scope="row"| Mohs Hardness
+| 3.5 - 4.0
+|-
+! scope="row"| Density
+| 2.93-2.95 g/ml
+|-
+! scope="row"| Refractive Index
+| 1.530 - 1.686
+|}
+== Resources and Citations ==
+* Gem Identification Lab Manual, Gemological Institute of America, 2016.
+* Wikipedia: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seashell Seashell] Accessed Dec 2022.
+* R. J. Gettens, G.L. Stout, ''Painting Materials, A Short Encyclopaedia'', Dover Publications, New York, 1966
+* Ralph Mayer, ''A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques'', Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)
+* R.D. Harley, ''Artists' Pigments c. 1600-1835'', Butterworth Scientific, London, 1982
+* G.S.Brady, ''Materials Handbook'', McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971  Comment: p. 132
+* Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, https://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000
 [[Category:Materials database]]