| LIZZADRO
MUSEUM of LAPIDARY ART
Elmhurst, Illinois
Virtual Tour
October 29, 2008
As we have consistently seen photos
and articles about this museum, we stopped in on our way to Wisconsin and
were not disappointed. Two floors, tastefully arranged, about all
you would want to see in an afternoon. The lower floor has displays
but also a classroom for school groups to come to learn about rocks &
minerals. We recommend this as a destination if you are ever in the
Chicago area. It is in a suburb of Chicago, easy to locate off the
main freeway.
Below is a memorial portrait of
Joseph Lizzadro, Sr. made of 1300 pieces of gemstones without using grout,
created by Bruno Lastrucci of Florence Italy. The tecnique is called
"commesso di pietra dura" (the joining together of hard stone).
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| RAW
GEMSTONES & BOULDERS |
| Petrified wood trunk at the
side entrance, 2300 pounds, from Arizona
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Moss agate boulder, 1300
pounds, from India
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Michigan copper/silver
"Half breed", 1091 pounds
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Nephrite jade from the
Fraser River, British Columbia, Canada
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| Jadeite boulder, Burma
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Petrified palm wood, Texas
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Petrified oak, Washington
State, a beautiful "butterfly"
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Palm wood tree trunk, Texas
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| Angel wing Calcite, Mexico
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Float jade, Wyoming
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Itacalumite
Ever hear of a rock that bends? Flexible sandstone is called The
Bending Rock. Some of the cementing material between the grains has
weakened, and mica particles between the grains allow for minute slippage
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Copper, Michigan
Botryoidal Hematite, Brazil
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| Ruby
in Zoisite slice, the color was unforgettable. The close up photos
are great screen savers
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| Ilya
Schar GEM PAINTINGS
(Moscow born artist), uses ground gemstones to
create these unique paintings |
| School of fish
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Peacock
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Beaks
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| GEMSTONE
CARVINGS |
| Jade (Jadeite) bowl,
China. A delicate green/lavender, this is an exquisite carving
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The Harvest, Amber from
Italy
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Madonna, Rutilated smoky
quartz, Germany
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Intarsia Boxes,
Nicolai Medvedev
Memorial Box
Box of rhodochrosite, malachite, etc.
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Rose quartz bowl, Germany
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Amethyst bowl, Germany
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Nephrite Jade bowl
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Rhodochrosite
bowl, Germany
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| Bowl in Ruby zoisite,
Germany
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White Nephrite
Jade, Ceremonial Vase, Moghul-style carving
(descendants of Tamerlane and Genghis Khan, combined Persian and Hindu
influences); the walls are 1/16" thick
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Agate & Obsidian carving, Glenn Lehrer
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| Ornamental bottle, Rock
Crystal, China
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Polar jade, Polar Mine, British Columbia, Canada
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Turquoise, from the collection of Cheng Kong Man Ying
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Chloromelanite Jadeite,
China
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| Guan Yin or Guanyin (Godess
of Mercy and Compassion, and Protectress of Children), Coral, China's most
popular deity. Created from a single jadeite boulder in the 20th
century
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Rare Hanging Bottle,
Nephrite Jade, China
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Rare blue jadeite imperial
pagoda, China, made during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795), used
t burn incense in the Imperial Palace in Beijing, China. The blue
jade was mined in Burma
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Glacier's Edge;
bears-dolomite, ice-quartz
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| Large Nephrite
Bi
This large prayer disc is the oldest piece in the Museum, made to honor
the birthday of Emperor Zhu Gong who lived about 600 B.C. The bi
symbolized the visible sun or moon disc, used in the worship of the
heavens. This large size indicates the high station of the
owner. The unusual color is due to the presence of iron oxide as the
nephrite jade was forming.
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| POLISHED
GEM CABOCHONS |
| Oregon jasper
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Hematite, Brazil
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Thomsonite, Michigan
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Bruneau Jasper, Idaho
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| Snow Mountain Jasper,
Colorado
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Gingko wood, Washington
State
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Poppy Jasper, California
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Laguna agate, Mexico
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| Marcasite agate, Michigan
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Moctezuma agate, Mexico
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| CASTLE
LIZZADRO
This gemstone creation turns 360 degrees to
music |
Dedicated to the memory of Chris Lizzadro (grandson of
the Museum's founer) and to other children whose lives ended with dreams
unfulfilled. Crated by William Tolliday of London England in 1984 on
Brazilian agate, the 18k gold castle rises from specimens of amethyst,
malachite, azurite and vanadium. Faceted diamonds sparkle in the windows,
giving the appearance of an occupied residence, ready to welcome weary
travelers.
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| EIGHTEEN
LOHAN, disciples of Buddha, Ivory
shown in exaggerated
realism to emphasize their denial of earthly pleasures.
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| IVORY
CARVINGS |
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Last Supper, Italy, 19th century, based on Leonardo da Vinci's painting
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| Ivory, Japan
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Ivory balls within balls
How ivory puzzle balls are made
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Ivory balls
within balls, 24 spheres, all move independently inside each other, carved
in late 19th Century China. Elegance, delicacy, and intricacy are
the requisite characteristics (ya, hsi, and fan)
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| CAMEOS
It is believed the first cameo was made in Alexandria
in 332 B.C. and the art peaked in the Roman Empire 70 A.D. Sardonyx stone
from India & Arabia was later used due to the contrasting dark & light
layers.
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| SHELL CARVED
CAMEOS
Full shell carving
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| Mother of Good Counsel
(Council?)
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Holy Child
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Madonna
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Priest & holy child
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| Madonna & child
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Praying child
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Wise man with holy child
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African portrait
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| Elizabethan style woman
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Will Rogers
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Richard Wagner
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Giuseppe Verdi
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| AGATE
CARVED CAMEOS
Stages of carving cameos on agate, on a slab of natural slab of agate.
Cameos with 3 or more layers of color are rare. These cameos are
natural in color.
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| OTHER
GEMSTONE CARVED CAMEOS |
| Tiger eye
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Bloodstone
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Malachite
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Amethyst
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| ANIMAL
CARVINGS
The dioramas were created in Idar-Oberstein,
Germany, a lapidary center in Europe. |
| Woodpeckers in Jasper and
tigereye, feet 14k gold
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Bears, mahogany obsidian
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"Ziggy", an Asian
bull elephant in sheen obsidian, replica of him in Cage 1974, Brookfield
Zoo; he lived till 1976. The ivory tusks were carved from a piece of
his own broken tusk
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Aquarium of fish
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Diorama, The Holdup, Mahogany Obsidian
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Robins, jasper, obsidian,
chalcedony
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Tyrannosaurus
Rex, Brontosaurus, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Pteradactyl and others
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Bear in Nephrite Polar
jade, British Columbia, Canada
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Parrot
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| SNUFF
BOTTLES |
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Black Opal
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White opal
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White opal
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Tourmaline
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| Amber
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