LECTURES and STUDY DAYS

The following are guidelines for NADFAS presentations,

but can be used or adapted for other groups.

From left to right: horn snuff mull, mammoth ivory carving, amber 'Pegasus' figure, plastic imitating amber beads, shell cameo.

WHAT ARE ORGANIC GEM MATERIALS?

Organic gem materials are derived from plants or animals. The better known materials include amber, copal, jet, bone, antler, ivories, horn, tortoiseshell, corals, pearls, and shells. Of the lesser known may be mentioned baleen, coconut shell, feathers, seeds, and indeed anything that can be used for decorative purposes, and that has at some time been produced by a living organism.

The first jewellery to be used by mankind was made from organic materials. Necklaces were made of seeds, shells or teeth, depending on what was available. Head-dresses were often made of feathers, shells and horn.

Organics have been used for their talismanic properties, to bring luck or to ward off evil. They have been used for utilitarian items, for example primitive scoops and cutting implements made thousands of years ago from shell, or antlers used as pick-axes. In the decorative arts they have been carved, used as jewellery, or used to embellish furniture.

Organic gem materials can be seen in museums world-wide. Or in a drawer at home!

The popularity of the materials has meant that some of the species from which they are gathered have been hunted almost to extinction. Their popularity has also meant that they have all been copied and faked in various materials, especially in plastics.

LECTURES

Lectures give an introduction to the different organic gem materials and their various uses, from thousands of years ago to the present day. Mention is made of their origins, possible trade bans, and how to identify some fakes.

All Lectures are richly illustrated by a digital slide show of high quality photographs.

STUDY DAYS & DAYS OF SPECIAL INTEREST

A Study Day or Day of Special Interest enables us to consider the gem materials in more depth. As with a Lecture

we consider the origins of the different organics, some of the current trade bans, and how to recognise ‘the real thing’ from fakes.

Study Days are for the smaller audience (max. 35 people). It is partly ‘hands-on’ and participants are encouraged to bring items for examination and discussion.

According to requirements, two or three digital slide presentations of high quality photographs accompany the talks.

NOTE

All Lectures, Days of Special Interest and Study Days are tailor-made for the individual group or society. Where requested, they can concentrate on one aspect of organic gems, or on a single gem type (such as amber), or be fitted to a theme being employed by a society (e.g. The Far East, the Seventeenth Century, etc.)

The titles of lectures, days of special interest and study days are also totally flexible. Those given in the NADFAS Directory are simply intended as a suggestion.

From left to right: panel in Amber Room (Tsarskoe Selo), tortoiseshell dressing table set, fossil walrus ivory carving, nautilus shells.

BIOGRAPHY

Maggie Campbell Pedersen FGA, ABIPP, is a Fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain, and an Associate of the British Institute of Professional Photography. Originally a commercial photographer specialising in jewellery, she became intrigued by the gemstones she was working with, and subsequently qualified as a gemmologist. She is also interested in, and has worked with animal conservation.

For several years she has combined her qualifications and interests to take them further and specialise in organic gem materials – that is, those of plant or animal origin. Her work includes identifications, teaching, writing, and constant research into the various aspects of the subject. Her photographs and articles have been published in many specialist books and magazines. She has lectured to specialist groups world-wide, and conducted seminars for museum curators, antique dealers, jewellers and gemmology students in Europe and the USA.

Maggie Campbell Pedersen is the author of ‘Gem and Ornamental Materials of Organic Origin’ – the only book devoted to the subject of organics, covering all the well-known materials and many lesser-known ones. She is the editor of ‘Organic Gems’ – the online information centre and reference archive similarly devoted entirely to this subject, which can be viewed HERE.

Chinese freshwater cultured pearls, natural colours.