Greenstone

Carved greenstone
MFA# 1993.814

Description

Nephrite (actinolite-tremolite)

Any a several naturally occurring igneous rocks that are colored by green minerals such as Nephrite or Diorite. Other green minerals include Glauconite, Chlorite, Hornblende, Epidote, and actinolite. Greenstones have been used for carving and building construction. The greenstone used by the Maoris of New Zealand is nephrite. It was also used to construct Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, England in the early thirteenth century.

Synonyms and Related Terms

whinstone; toadstone; trap; nephrite; diorite; glauconite; chlorite; hornblende; epidote; actinolite; New Zealand greenstone (pounamu)

Raman

Risks

May contain asbestos

Additional Images

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  Greenstone

Resources and Citations

• Dictionary of Building Preservation, Ward Bucher, ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York City, 1996

• Anne Grimmer, Glossary of Building Stone Terms, A Glossary of Historic Masonry Deterioration Problems and Preservation Treatments, National Park Service, Washington DC, 1984

• Olympus Microscopy Resource Center at http://www.olympusmicro.com/galleries/polarizedlight/pages/greenstonesmall.html (Accessed Sept. 17, 2005)

• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenstone_%28disambiguation%29 (Accessed Sept. 7, 2005)

• Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)

• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

• Susan E. Schur, Conservation Terminology: A review of Past & Current Nomenclature of Materials, Technology and Conservation, Spring (p.34-39); Summer (p.35-38); Fall (p.25-36), 1985

• Michael McCann, Artist Beware, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York City, 1979