This is a truly delightful and SPECIAL piece of Kauri Gum

It is seriously THE MOST TRANSPARENT piece I have ever offered for sale

When held up to the light you can see right through it and in standard daylight ? it is almost GLASS CLARITY

This is what is generally described as "Jewellery Grade" gum

WEIGHT approx. 690 grams

PROVENANCE = Ex The Holloway private family MUSEUM in Whanganui city, North Island, New Zealand.

The entire collection of which, was auctioned-off last week in Wellington

Kauri gum is a fossilized resin detracted from kauri trees (Agathis australis), which is made into crafts such as jewellery

Kauri forests once covered much of the North Island of New Zealand, before Maori and European settlers caused deforestation, causing several areas to revert to sand dunes, scrubs, and swamps. Even afterward, ancient kauri fields continued to provide a source for the gum and the remaining forests

Kauri gum formed when resin from kauri trees leaked out through fractures or cracks in the bark, hardening with the exposure to air. Lumps commonly fell to the ground and became covered with soil and forest litter, eventually fossilising. Other lumps formed as branches forked or trees were damaged, which released the resin

In 1898, the "Kauri Gum Industry Act" was passed, which reserved gum-grounds for British subjects, and requiring all other diggers to be licensed.

By 1910, only British subjects could hold gum-digging licences.