How is baltic amber harvested

It was only in the early modern period that amber began to be mined. With the introduction of industrial techniques, huge amounts have been extracted since the nineteenth century.

It is estimated that up to a million pounds of amber a year was dug from the blue earth layer of the Samland peninsula in the first decades of the twentieth century. However, of the varieties used in antiquity and known today, only succinite, or Baltic amber, is found in the large, relatively sturdy, jewelry-grade pieces such as were used for the sizable objects of antiquity, like the pre-Roman pendants of this catalogue, or for the complex carvings, vessels, and containers of Roman date.

Small pieces of amber and the wastage of larger compositions could have been used for tiny carvings and other purposes.

Non-jewelry-grade amber would also have been employed in inlay, incense and perfume, pharmaceuticals, and varnish, as is still the case in the modern period. Burmite found in Burma, now Myanmar and some amber from China, types also found in large, high-grade pieces, have long histories of artistic and other uses in Asia.

The geological source of Ming- and Ching-dynasty amber carvings is not assured. Amber: Window to the Past. New York, See also B. Portland, OR, See also D. Grimaldi, M. Engel, and P.

Zherikhin and A. Amber: The Natural Time Capsule. London, Slotta, eds. Bochum, Savkevich and T. Bouzek, eds. Paul Getty Museum. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum , The J. Accessed DD Mon. Skip to Main Content Search. Previous Page: Amber Magic? Table of Contents. Notes Recent sources consulted include E.

Potenza, Portland, OR, Atlas of Plants and Animals in Baltic Amber. Munich, Celi, eds. Ambra: Scrigno del tempo. Montebelluna Treviso , Princeton, Amber: The Natural Time Capsule.

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