Love for Bazhov's "Ural Tales" lives in me since childhood: I still sometimes reread it, and I will definitely introduce my children to them. The attitude to malachite has also survived since that time, as well as the confidence that the Mistress of the Copper Mountain did not choose “silk malachite” for her dress for nothing - there must be some mystical power in the stone, since the keeper of the Ural gems paid attention to it. And so it was: the legends of different countries say that malachite is able to fulfill any desire of the owner. One may or may not believe in magic, but even the most inveterate skeptic is unlikely to dispute the fact of the beauty of this mineral, for which it has long been valued by both jewelers and ordinary people.
Once Ta-Kemet, which today is familiar to us as Egypt, was struck by a terrible cholera epidemic. How many people exactly ruined the disease - we will never know, but it is known that the number of victims was incredible. The priests and magicians noticed that cholera did not affect their compatriots, who worked, mining malachite - this was immediately adopted, and the centuries-old "PR campaign" of the mineral's medicinal properties began. I will not undertake to judge how effective the ancient recipes were, just as it is not for me to judge the effectiveness of just such a treatment. First of all, doubts arise in terms of the universality of malachite: ancient lithotherapists advised it literally for any ailment. So, for example, for the birth of a child in many countries it was customary to give some malachite trifle:the baby's mother had to place her next to the cradle or right in it in order to protect the baby from everything at once - both from diseases, and from the machinations of evil sorcerers, and from nightmares in a dream. Ancient Egyptian beauties enjoyed using malachite-based cosmetics, using the powder to make a variety of ointments and eye shadows. Alas: such means caused irreparable harm to health, because this mineral owes its magnificent color to nothing more than copper compounds. The result of their frequent contact with the dermis could be very dire, and loose skin is not the worst of the possible consequences.using powder to make a variety of ointments and eyeshadows. Alas: such products caused irreparable harm to health, because this mineral owes its magnificent color to nothing more than copper compounds. The result of their frequent contact with the dermis could be very dire, and loose skin is not the worst of the possible consequences.using powder to make a variety of ointments and eyeshadows. Alas: such means caused irreparable harm to health, because this mineral owes its magnificent color to nothing more than copper compounds. The result of their frequent contact with the dermis could be very dire, and loose skin is not the worst possible consequence.
Ancient Greek architects decorated significant buildings with malachite cladding, similar to the one on the columns of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. The Romans believed that the mineral belonged to the goddess Venus, and therefore young girls could not wear jewelry inlaid with malachite. Otherwise, there was a great risk of provoking excessive attention of the opposite sex - malachite would simply serve as a kind of "signal to action." Europeans in the Middle Ages believed that malachite could be used as a shield, and not easy, against evil spells and temptation: if used correctly, malachite could not only prevent harm to the owner, but also send a mental blow to the author with a ricochet, if the necessary the words. In Russia, belief in the miraculous properties of malachite endowed him with the ability to help achieve good goals,and "insure" against bad thoughts with instant karma. True, he did not meet often, so that the faith was, so to speak, small-town. This continued until the middle of the 18th century, when a deposit with the highest quality malachite was discovered in the Urals. The abundance has led to a sharp increase in the popularity of the stone, and the emergence of hundreds of private collections, including samples of the mineral or products from it. The best known collection is considered to be the collection that belonged to Catherine II, which she later presented to the Mining Institute. By the way, it contains the largest malachite lump weighing more than 500 kg.and the emergence of hundreds of private collections, including samples of the mineral or products from it. The best known collection is considered to be the collection that belonged to Catherine II, which she later presented to the Mining Institute. By the way, it contains the largest malachite lump weighing more than 500 kg.and the emergence of hundreds of private collections, including samples of the mineral or products from it. The best known collection is considered to be the collection that belonged to Catherine II, which she later presented to the Mining Institute. By the way, it contains the largest malachite lump weighing over 500 kg.
No matter how hard the Western masters tried, they were unable to overtake the Russian stone cutters. A unique method that requires incredible patience, precision of hands, an artistic look at the cold green malachite - not everyone could boast of such a set of qualities. The master sawed a piece of rock into thin layers, from which he then assembled a mosaic, creating a surface with a pattern that could not be repeated even with a strong desire. The finished mosaic was glued to the inlaid surface: in this way, any product was finished, from a tiny box to a huge column. It seems that there is nothing super complicated, and the main difficulty is to saw the records, but no. The artistic component is much more serious: for the sake of selecting a harmonious pattern, it was sometimes necessary to sort out more than one hundred kilograms of the breed. This principle was used to decorate a piece of cheap stone and reduce the cost of lapis lazuli, as well as to create the illusion of a monolith carving. A real explosion of malachite fashion led to a rapid depletion of natural bins: the richest deposits of the Urals, Mednorudyanskoe and Gumeshevskoe, have been fully developed to date. Some researchers believe that these are not the last deposits in the Urals, and the discovery of new ones is not excluded: now all hopes for the restoration of the malachite business in this area are associated only with the Korovinsko-Reshetnikovskoye deposit. Mednorudyanskoye and Gumeshevskoye are fully developed to date. Some researchers believe that these are not the last deposits in the Urals, and the discovery of new ones is not excluded: now all hopes for the restoration of the malachite business in this area are associated only with the Korovinsko-Reshetnikovskoye deposit. Mednorudyanskoye and Gumeshevskoye are fully developed to date. Some researchers believe that these are not the last deposits in the Urals, and the discovery of new ones is not excluded: now all hopes for the restoration of the malachite business in this area are associated only with the Korovinsko-Reshetnikovskoye deposit.
Promotional video:
What is malachite?
Malachite is a copper ore rock. Since time immemorial, free copper has been obtained from it: in fact, this is one of the first reasons for its extraction, the use of the mineral in applied crafts was added much later. Malachite is always on the list of minerals accompanying copper ore and is characteristic of the upper layer of its deposits. If you do not go into the intricacies of chemical reactions, then malachite owes its appearance to the passage of a copper solution through porous limestone, as a result of which copper dihydroxocarbonate - malachite is formed.
In nature, there are many varieties of its forms: small crystals, concentric-zonal kidney-shaped forms, pseudo-stalactites, veins, and others. As for the color, here are all the shades of green, which the domestic mineralogy, with difficulty, but still divided into three groups with their own characteristic features:
- turquoise malachite, harder than other types, but easier to polish. It is distinguished by a wavy color change;
- in velvet (velvet) there are particles that are very similar in texture to this material. This adds a few points in favor of the mineral's appearance, however, due to the same stone velvet, this type of malachite is extremely difficult to polish;
- finely patterned, it is - curly malachite is less common than others. The species owes its name to a fantasy pattern reminiscent of an extraordinary tree with many leaves, none of which are like the others.
In Western mineralogists, everything is much more prosaic: French experts cut malachite into four color groups - variegated (there are dark fractions), mixed (there are blue and green shades), monochrome green and patterned. Malachites of the Urals are distinguished by rather contrasting lines, tracing the mineral and separating light and dark shades. The Korovinsko-Reshetnikovsky mine is not able to provide the volume that modern jewelers demand, and the quality of the mineral mined there is now inferior to malachite from Congo. Now the former Zaire is its main source. The pattern of the Congolese malachite differs from the Ural one by the size and shape of the rings: in the first they are larger and have the correct shape. This allows you to create products of incredible beauty: circles of contrasting emerald shades look very advantageous. Here, out of 10,000 tons of ore, it is possible to obtain about 100 kg of ornamental malachite, and quite often this amount accounts for unique collection samples.
Malachite in lithotherapy
Of course, lithotherapists could not ignore this mineral, especially since the history of its use for the treatment of various ailments has been going on for a long time. According to legend, malachite turned its owner into an absolutely healthy person, completely healing his body and preventing the recurrence of diseases. Lithotherapy partly agrees: its supporters believe that malachite can at least shorten and alleviate the course of any disease. A malachite bracelet will help with skin problems, and sometimes the affected area is treated with a mineral ground into a powder. Earrings with malachite have a positive effect on the condition of the optic nerve, stabilizing eye pressure and restoring the functioning of organs. If you daily apply a thin malachite plate to a sore spot with damage to the pancreas or spleen,then malachite will help them heal.
Malachite exhibits similar properties not only in relation to the physical body: the mineral will be able to bring even the most complex character to harmony, and balance a person prone to conflicts or depression. A malachite thing installed on a desk as a decoration can do a good job and save a scattered, scattered person from many of the problems associated with these traits. The mineral will help you concentrate, and this, in turn, will help you achieve your goals.
If you listen to the occultists, you can find out that malachite is one of the minerals that can endow a simple mortal with a talent, thanks to which he can use the forces of the universe. In ancient times, it was believed that a sip from a malachite bowl, even if the drink was plain water, would teach you to understand the language of birds and animals, and with an amulet made of this stone all roads in time and space were open.
Malachite will allow a person suffering from an inferiority complex to open up, show him hidden talents, and help awaken them. This stone is especially good as a talisman for single people, as it will be able to direct them towards the desired representative of the opposite sex, with whom the most harmonious and happy relationships will develop.
Stone Flower
I will return to Bazhov's tales. Despite the fact that malachite is mined all over the world, it was the Ural deposits that were famous in our country, which is not surprising: why look around, if right next to the richest mineral granary? It was on her, on her miracles and legends, on her hardworking, talented people, that the Russian folklorist focused on. One of the most important characters is the Mistress of the Copper Mountain, a guardian spirit who takes the form of a young beauty, or a lizard with a crown on its head.
Malakhitnitsa keeps the treasures of the Urals, protects them, taking the ore deep into the mountain, if he sees a bad attitude towards the people who mine it, or if no one heeded her kind warnings. A pagan goddess, she does not belong to this world, so the gifts that she occasionally makes to the young men she likes most often bring them only grief. If the guy passes the test in grief, then it is better than him, the master stone-cutter cannot be found - however, if he returns. Malachite objects flicker in different tales: either Danila the master carves out his stone flower, then a jewelry box presented by Malakhitnitsa herself appears, then a beautiful girl leaves the malachite palace chambers uphill - maybe to become a new Mistress? Who, fabulous, will disassemble them, however, malachite objects live not only in folklore. Since about the end of the 18th century, it has become fashionable to cover flat surfaces such as countertops. By the 19th century, craftsmanship increased to the decoration of volumetric objects: the high quality of work allowed Russian emperors to present malachite products as diplomatic gifts, and now some of the old works can be found in museums.