Hidden Gems

Winter 2019

Buddha carved from clear crystalAlready dazzling in its raw form, a block of quartz is transformed into a Buddhistic figure with flowing robes. A green-ribboned malachite stone is shaped into a tree. The Beauty of Sculpted Minerals exhibition in the Robert M. Linsley Geology Museum offers a visual display of natural materials and their artistic relatives.

The sculptures and minerals from which they’re hand carved are on loan from the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City. Rich April, the Dunham Beldon Jr. Professor of geology emeritus, organized the exhibition to “show how minerals are beautiful even in nature but also after the sculptor has carved them into something we could treasure.”

In honor of Colgate’s Bicentennial, the professor wanted to recognize the University’s 150-year-long association with the AMNH, beginning with former Professor Albert Bickmore’s founding of the AMNH in 1869.

After a year and a half of planning, April’s exhibition came to fruition when the crates arrived last August. “I couldn’t believe how beautiful the sculptures were in person,” he says, having chosen the pieces from photographs. Although April says he loves all of the objects, a little Buddha, carved from tiger’s eye, stands out: “It has this reflective beauty.” But, April adds, each piece has its own attraction. “When people gaze upon this display,” he says, “every person will have a different favorite piece.”    

The Beauty of Sculpted Minerals is on display until June 15.