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The book Minerals & Precious Stones of
Brazil is unique in its kind and was afforded with the sponsorship of
Vale by means of the Federal Law of Cultural Incentive. It presents a
vast historical and iconographic panorama of the national production of
minerals and precious stones, with chapters dedicated to Indian lithic
art of Brazil, the beginning of mineralogy in the Country recorded by
European travelers, naturalists and mineralogists, as well as cabinets
of curiosities, mineralogical museums, private collections and
collections of the Court of the Imperial Family, emphasizing the Museu
Nacional, the Museu Ciências da Terra, the Museu de Ciência e Técnica of
the Escola de Minas of Ouro Preto and the Museu de Geociências of the
Universidade of São Paulo.
Still regarding the historical aspect, the work broaches the description
of new minerals in Brazil and the gold and diamond cycles, with pictures
of great interest drawn by travelers, as well as splendid sceneries
during the gold rush of Serra Pelada in recent decades, registering for
the first time in a book the biggest gold nuggets still preserved in the
World, which belong to the collection of the Museu de Valores of the
Banco Central, in Brasilia.
The book depicts some of the most
beautiful, amazing and valuable brazilian specimens of emerald,
aquamarine, heliodore, morganite, tourmaline, garnet, topaz, euclase,
amethyst and diamond, many of them unique and that render Brazil one of
the World’s major producers of gems.
According to Luiz Alberto Dias Menezes
Filho, in the foreword of the book:
"This book describes Brazilian minerals,
masterpieces of nature, which endowed our subsoil with incomparable
wealth of variety and quality. The authors opted to place emphasis on
the history of mineralogy in Brazil, closely linked with the history of
Brazilian mining, which has been characterized by a series of
superlatives: Brazil was leading world producer of gold and of diamonds
between the mid-18th century and the mid-19th century. At the present
time, it is the leading world producer of iron ore, tin and niobium, and
an important producer of manganese, aluminum, silicon, tantalum, rare
earths, graphite, magnesite and countless other ores. In the field of
collection and gemological minerals, Brazil is the leading world
producer of tourmaline (of all colors), of quartz (colorless, rutilated,
amethyst and agate), of beryl (aquamarine, morganite and heliodore, and
the second ranking world producer of emerald), of topaz (imperial, blue
and colorless), alexandrite, euclase, phenakite and many others. On
behalf of Brazilian mineral collectors, who contributed most of the
photos, I would like to thank the company VALE for the pioneer and
notable initiative of sponsoring the publication of this book, which
should contribute to portray the extremely rich history of Brazilian
mining, with an emphasis on small pegmatite mining ventures, factories
of dreams and of illusions, which do not only provide conditions for
subsistence and progress in some of the poorest regions of Brazil, but
also enabled the recovery of these spectacular minerals, generating
important funds for the Nation, as well as extremely valuable scientific
knowledge."
According to Carlos Cornejo, one of the
authors:
"This book formed gradually like a
crystal, incorporating, page by page, extraordinary mineral treasures
and true masterpieces of Nature. To produce this paper museum, we went
around mines and "garimpos", visited museums and libraries, and came
into contact with collectors, scientists, miners and "garimpeiros".
Brazil is one of the greatest producers of minerals of economic
importance, precious stones and mineralogical collection specimens in
the world, which explains the relevance of a publication that describes
the amazing wealth of the mineral kingdom in the country. We wished to
highlight lithic art and the use of minerals by indigenous peoples, the
history of great discoveries of noble metals and gemstone minerals, and
the excellent, sometimes unique specimens, that exist in museums and
private collections. All illustrated with refined photographic
technique, justifying the publication of a book that reunites images of
the marvels that have already been found in Brazilian subsoil,
faithfully reproducing their habits, crystallization, color and luster,
besides focusing on aspects of their extraction, with abundant
documentation portraying the landscape and the people from the back
country of Brazil, from the gold claims of the Amazon, passing through
the diamondiferous and precious stone producing regions of the Northeast
and Southeast, to the agate and amethyst claims of the tablelands of Rio
Grande do Sul. The book covers aspects related essentially to mineral
production and dates back to colonial times, gathering reports from
travelers and naturalists, besides reproductions of prints produced by
notable illustrators, with important historical images forming part of
this documentation. We emphasize that the book also addresses minerals
as subjects of cultural interest, instilling in readers the perception
of precious stones and minerals as natural aesthetic products, to be
protected so that future generations can contemplate this irreplaceable
legacy of Nature."
According to Andrea Bartorelli, the other
author:
"In the start of the editorial project of
this book we were surprised by the enthusiastic support of friends,
collectors, scholars, technicians, miners, prospectors, claim owners and
museums, which ceaselessly flowed in with specimens, photographs,
documents, texts, suggestions, corrections. They kindly put at our
disposition their collections, showcases and safes, making them
available to be photographed and documented with all the dedication they
required. Their contributions were such that the book grew bulkier in an
unexpected manner. The minerals are reproduced in the photographs as
they were found in Nature, having not been submitted to any process of
cutting or polishing, except in the case of agates and cut stones. We
have also reunited the history of emerald, gold and diamond cycles, as
well as accounts of the great discoveries or "bamburros" and their
protagonists, besides reports on modern mineral discoveries, such as
that of the iron of Serra dos Carajás. One of the most highly esteemed
Brazilians dedicated to mineralogy was José Bonifácio de Andrada e
Silva, the Patriarch of Independence and the greatest mineralogist and
collector of Brazil of his time. Members of the Imperial Family also
dedicated to interesting collections, such as the Empress Leopoldina,
the Emperor Dom Pedro II and specially Prince Dom Pedro Augusto de
Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha e Bragança. With this publication we hope to instill
the appreciation and the preservation of specimens of the various
mineral species, a unique and rare legacy, comparable to the most
valuable art masterpieces. If this book awakens interest in Brazil’s
precious and amazing mineralogical and cultural heritage, it will
justify the efforts of all those who collaborated with us for its
achievement, an enjoyable task that provided us with the opportunity to
come into contact with all the people passionate about the wonderful
mineral world."
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WORK:
Minerals & Precious Stones of Brazil is a
hardcover book with 704 pages and 1,153 colorful photographs, engravings
and drawings. Its closed format is 24 x 18 centimeters and the cover
price is of R$ 148.00.
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