Dish (Pan) with Grape Spray, Eight Auspicious Symbols, and Rosettes, late Ming dynasty, about 1550-1644, China, Jiangxi Province, Jingdezhen. Wheel-thrown porcelain with underglaze blue painted decoration and clear glaze. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Gift of Hyatt Robert Von Dehn (M.72.17.2). Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Bowl, China, Ming dynasty, Wanli period, 1573-1619. Porcelain with underglaze blue painted decoration. Height: 1 3/8 in. (3.49 cm); Diameter: 3 15/16 in. (10 cm). Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Gift of Ambassador and Mrs. Edward E. Masters (M.84.213.368). Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Bowl, China, Ming Dynasty, 15th-16th century. Stoneware with underglaze blue painted decoration. Height: 3 in. (7.62 cm); Diameter: 6 in. (15.24 cm). Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Gift of Ambassador and Mrs. Edward E. Masters (M.84.213.291). Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
The Fire of Australia opal, valued at nearly $900,000 Australian dollars and weighing at 998 grams.
ADELAIDE.- The finest uncut opal in existence, the Fire of Australia, has joined the South Australian Museum’s collection through the vision of a private donor and funding from the Federal Government’s National Cultural Heritage Account.
Valued at nearly $900,000 Australian dollars and weighing at 998 grams, the Fire of Australia is the world’s finest piece of opal of its kind on public display.
The Director of the South Australian Museum, Brian Oldman said the rarity of this piece of opal cannot be underestimated.
“Opal of this quality can only be created under certain climate conditions,” Mr Oldman said.
“90% of the world’s most precious opals are found in South Australia.
“When our state’s inland sea evaporated millions of years ago it provided a unique silica-rich environment for the creation of precious opal. It is these exceptional conditions that created the Fire of Australia.”
Still in the rough condition in which it was found, two faces of the Fire of Australia have been polished to reveal the gem’s exceptional quality, with its transitioning colour from green to yellow to red depending on the angle from which it is viewed.
Minister for the Arts the Hon Senator Mitch Fifield today announced $455,000 in federal funding for the Museum to secure the significant piece.
The Turnbull Government understands the importance of preserving and displaying Australia’s unique artefacts locally for current and future generations.
This funding helps Australia’s cultural institutions, such as the South Australian Museum, acquire significant objects for public display.
Walter Bartram’s son Alan said that the Fire of Australia was mined in 1946 by Walter Bartram at the Eight Mile field in Coober Pedy, South Australia and has been in his family for over 60 years.
“After loaning the Fire of Australia to the South Australian Museum for its Opals exhibition, we made the decision to place this family heirloom in safe hands.
“We’ve been long term supporters of the South Australian Museum and it seems fitting that it should be passed onto the people of South Australia to enjoy,” Mr. Bartram said.
Opals was the most visited paid for exhibition in the Museum’s history, resulting in donations of precious opals of more than $3 million, which includes the Fire of Australia.
The Fire of Australia opal will be on display in the South Australian Museum’s front foyer until February 28 2017.
The Fire of Australia opal, valued at nearly $900,000 Australian dollars and weighing at 998 grams.
Gao Jianfu (高劍父, 1879-1951)
Gao Jianfu (高劍父, 1879-1951)
Zhang Daqian (張大千, 1899-1983)
Xu Beihong (徐悲鴻, 1895-1953)
Shen Zhou (沈周, 1427-1509)
Xu Beihong (徐悲鴻, 1895-1953)
Qi Baishi (齊白石, 1864-1957)
Chen Dayu (陳大羽, 1912-2001)
Wang Xuetao (王雪濤, 1903-1982)
Tang Yun (唐雲, 1910-1993)
Melchior de Hondecoeter (c. 1636-1695), Fowl, 1668-70. Oil on canvas, 83 x 64 cm © Nottingham City Museums and Galleries
Melchior de Hondecoeter (c. 1636-1695), A Cock, Hens and Chicks, 1668-70© National Gallery, London
Melchior de Hondecoeter (c. 1636-1695), «Hühnerho», 1686 © Lower Saxony State Museum
Melchior de Hondecoeter (c. 1636-1695), Still Life with Cock, oil on canvas, 59 x 66 cm© Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp
Melchior de Hondecoeter (c. 1636-1695), Birds and a Spaniel in a Garden. Oil on canvas, 127,6 x 152,4 cm. © Royal Collection, Windsor
Melchior de Hondecoeter (c. 1636-1695), Landscape with Poultry and Birds of Prey. Oil on canvas 122 x 139 cm, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid© Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
Melchior de Hondecoeter (c. 1636-1695), The poultry yard, late 17th century, oil on canvas, 148.2 × 170.3 cm, inscribed in brown paint c.: M. D. Hondecoeter. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Felton Bequest, 1920, 1067-3. © National Gallery of Victoria
Melchior de Hondecoeter (c. 1636-1695), Barnyard Fowl and Peacocks. Oil on canvas, 121.9 x 156.5 cm (48 x 61 5/8 in.), Julia Bradford Huntington James Fund, 07.501© 2017 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Melchior de Hondecoeter (c. 1636-1695), Poultry Yard. Oil on canvas, 285х303 cm. The State Hermitage Museum, ГЭ-2740© 1998 - 2017 The State Hermitage Museum
Melchior de Hondecoeter (c. 1636-1695), A Rooster and Turkey Fighting, c. 1680. Oil on canvas, Framed: 164.50 x 193.00 x 10.00 cm (64 3/4 x 75 15/16 x 3 7/8 inches); Unframed: 137.20 x 166.40 cm (54 x 65 1/2 inches). John L. Severance Fund 1986.59. © The Cleveland Museum of Art
Melchior de Hondecoeter (c. 1636-1695), A Hen with Peacocks and a Turkey, c. 1680, oil on canvas, h 134 cm × w 174.5 cm. On loan from the City of Amsterdam (A. van der Hoop Bequest), SK-C-146© Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Melchior de Hondecoeter (c. 1636-1695), Birds in a Park, 1686. Oil on canvas, 135x155 cm. The State Hermitage Museum, ГЭ-1043© 1998 - 2017 The State Hermitage Museum
Melchior de Hondecoeter (c. 1636-1695), Poultry Yard. Oil on canvas, 112х125 cm. The State Hermitage Museum, ГЭ-1031© 1998 - 2017 The State Hermitage Museum
