🔎 UNIDENTIFIED Any ideas on what this white rock might be.

tamrock

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Jan 16, 2013
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I bought this at a thrift store. It appears to be a milky white rock partially covered with a hard abrasive grey and black layer mineral of some type. It's mounted on a wood stand, that's similar to other Asian novelty type of stone items one would find in an Asian import shop. It has the weight of what most typical rocks this size would be. All my imputed descriptions into Google are not leading me to any other rocks like it.
 

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Milky Quartz
Yeah it could be. Still I wonder about what all this other stuff that has deposited around it might be and possibility how it formed. The milky quartz around here in Colorado it mostly more crystalline in appearance than this specimen. It looks more like a chalcedony but more of a waxy feel to it.
 

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Milky quartz. Something they slapped on it, not natural to make an object-de-art out of it.
Really. I wouldn't of thought it was something applied unnaturally. It just something odd to display.
 

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Could the white stone be polished alabaster?
 

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i think you may have what is known as "white jade" and the crust is natural as well as expected.

That's interesting, I have to wonder why this specimen was mounted on a wood stand. Seems someone thought it special.
 

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someone liked it as it was in its natural form.... you did too....
 

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someone liked it as it was in its natural form.... you did too....
It was cheap in a thrift store and I was rather intrigued with it. These thrift store's around me sure do come up with some interesting items at times. Some I've purchased are rather valuable. I'm not sure about this one, which cost under ten bucks. Maybe it's worth a small fortune and maybe not. ???
 

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That's interesting, I have to wonder why this specimen was mounted on a wood stand. Seems someone thought it special.

I have no idea what it is geologically, but it looks to me like what is called a “suiseki” in Japan (and similar stones also come from China known as “gongshi” or “scholar’s rocks”.)

As a tradition, weird-looking natural stones are sought out for their aesthetic appeal and must have a special shape, colour and texture. A suiseki should have subtlety of color, shape, markings and surface, sometimes selected for an overall shape that resembles a landscape feature, an animal, or a sculptural form.

They’re often presented on a wooden base called a “daiza”, a waterproof ceramic tray called a “suiban”, or a bronze bowl called a “doban”. The latter two options allow the stone to be wetted in the interests of enhancing the surface appearance.

The stones are not allowed to be reshaped, but modern ones sold in Chinatown shops may not respect that rule and are sometimes purpose made as composites. One permitted exception is cutting the base to provide a flat surface so it rests stably on a daiza (but purists regard that as a devaluation of the aesthetics.)
 

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I have no idea what it is geologically, but it looks to me like what is called a “suiseki” in Japan (and similar stones also come from China known as “gongshi” or “scholar’s rocks”.)

As a tradition, weird-looking natural stones are sought out for their aesthetic appeal and must have a special shape, colour and texture. A suiseki should have subtlety of color, shape, markings and surface, sometimes selected for an overall shape that resembles a landscape feature, an animal, or a sculptural form.

They’re often presented on a wooden base called a “daiza”, a waterproof ceramic tray called a “suiban”, or a bronze bowl called a “doban”. The latter two options allow the stone to be wetted in the interests of enhancing the surface appearance.

The stones are not allowed to be reshaped, but modern ones sold in Chinatown shops may not respect that rule and are sometimes purpose made as composites. One permitted exception is cutting the base to provide a flat surface so it rests stably on a daiza (but purists regard that as a devaluation of the aesthetics.)
Well I looked at quite a few images of both a suiseki and gongshi rocks. I've never heard of such a thing before. Interesting for sure and to think I may have one or the other?
 

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I bought this at a thrift store. It appears to be a milky white rock partially covered with a hard abrasive grey and black layer mineral of some type. It's mounted on a wood stand, that's similar to other Asian novelty type of stone items one would find in an Asian import shop. It has the weight of what most typical rocks this size would be. All my imputed descriptions into Google are not leading me to any other rocks like it.
Low fat milky quartz 2%maybe with a coat of dribble cheese? Just joking man got to sometimes😜hope you get the real story on it.
 

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The outside covering looks like dirty gypsum and the center could be clean gypsum. I find gypsum close to me along with other minerals (I live super close to San Andreas fault line) I was trying to make windchimes out of gypsum crystals (sheet crystal) and found that water makes it real smooth, glasslike smooth it could be the center is clean gypsum that was washed which smoothed it out?
 

Upvote 1
I bought this at a thrift store. It appears to be a milky white rock partially covered with a hard abrasive grey and black layer mineral of some type. It's mounted on a wood stand, that's similar to other Asian novelty type of stone items one would find in an Asian import shop. It has the weight of what most typical rocks this size would be. All my imputed descriptions into Google are not leading me to any other rocks like it.
You know I don't remember where I was reading this but In essence someone was trying to explain this new app or download or some such thing that worked like this you take a pic of something that you have no idea what it is and upload it I guess and the program or whatever the hell you call it does the looking for you till I guess it finds a match ,maybe somebody on here is educated as to what imm they were talking about and chime in.
 

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I bought this at a thrift store. It appears to be a milky white rock partially covered with a hard abrasive grey and black layer mineral of some type. It's mounted on a wood stand, that's similar to other Asian novelty type of stone items one would find in an Asian import shop. It has the weight of what most typical rocks this size would be. All my imputed descriptions into Google are not leading me to any other rocks like it.
You might try n ask either Vietnamese or Laotian I lived with both and now come to think bout it they have stones like that mounted like that and lots of green jade galore just rembered
 

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The outside covering looks like dirty gypsum and the center could be clean gypsum. I find gypsum close to me along with other minerals (I live super close to San Andreas fault line) I was trying to make windchimes out of gypsum crystals (sheet crystal) and found that water makes it real smooth, glasslike smooth it could be the center is clean gypsum that was washed which smoothed it out?
In the past I would stop at a pull-off on I70-W just before the exit at Gypsum, Colorado and you can find a few clear and other gypsum specimens. I just can't see this as being gypsum. It's much harder than the natural gypsum mineral I know of.
 

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