This agate has brilliant rust reds, oranges to light beige colors. The carver spent time designing the stone with the thumb print in the center, and the bands almost run down the bottle in parallel lines. It is the nature of agate to include fine banding of multiple colors. To form these intricate lines required repeated floods of slow-moving lava waves over lower levels of stone, laying down successive layers of .silica/quartz one over the other. The bottle is of a flattened form with sloping shoulders and tapering to form a raised large oval foot. The straight sides are carved with animal masks with rings. (The inside of the rings show signs of hand carving.) The opening is slightly concave. The opening is almost oval, a sign of good age, not made by mechanical tools. The interior is well hollowed, the weight without its stopper is 3.9 ounces or 110 grams. The agate bottle is matched with a beige banded agate stopper and a copper spoon.
Dating: Early 20 century - 1900's to 1940's
Dimension: 2.5 inches wide and 3.25 inches high
Condition: In good condition, tiny scratches and one little ding on the foot