Desperate bid to save Australia’s Flame Queen
An irreplaceable Australian treasure will go under the hammer in San Francisco on June 22, sparking a desperate appeal for the piece to be returned to its country of origin.
The Flame Queen, an Australian black opal described by US publication Jewelers Circular Keystone as a “legendary stone†and “perhaps the most famous and recognisable opal in the world,†will be offered by international fine arts auctioneers Bonhams & Butterfields.
The auction house estimates it will sell for between US$150,000 and $200,000.
Mined at the Bald Hill workings at Lightning Ridge in 1918, the Flame Queen weighs a massive 263 carats and fills the palm of a hand. It flaunts a large central dome of vivid red surrounded by a rich, contrasting band of blue-green. For most of the last century it has been held in private collections overseas.
“Opals like the Flame Queen are Australia’s crown jewels,†said Jenni Brammall, project manager of the Australian Opal Centre at Lightning Ridge. Indeed, one of the Flame Queen’s early formal engagements was a London exhibition marking the 1934 coronation of King George VI.
“Nearly all of Australia’s finest opals have left our shores,’ Ms Brammall said, “so although it’s wonderful that the Flame Queen has travelled the globe, it’s time now for it to come home to stay, in a public collection where it can be experienced and cherished by the people of Australia.
The Flame Queen is a true National Treasure. “We’re desperately hoping that the State or Federal Government, or a philanthropic individual or organisation, will step forward to buy the Flame Queen for the Australian people, bringing it home to Lightning Ridge and the Australian Opal Centre,†Ms Brammall said.
The Australian Opal Centre is a national facility being built at Lightning Ridge in New South Wales to house the world’s finest public collection of Australia’s National Gemstone – opal – and rare opalised fossils. The Centre will be housed in a remarkable energy-efficient, two-storey underground building designed by world renowned architects Glenn Murcutt and Wendy Lewin.
FLAME QUEEN FACTS
** Mined 1918 at Bald Hill, Lightning Ridge, by Jack Phillips, Walter Bradley and ‘Irish’ Joe Hegarty; cut by Walter Bradley
** Opal type: Black opal, nobby formation
** Dimensions: 72.1 x 57.7 x 11.5mm
** Weight: 263.18 carats
** Play of colour: central dome changes from vivid red to copper/gold as the stone is moved; surrounding band shifts between emerald green and electric blue
** First bought by Ernie Sherman for £93; thought to have changed ownership three times since
** Exhibited: London 1937 during coronation of King George VI; London 1980 for Golden Jubilee of Gemmological Association of Great Britain
** Literature: features in numerous publications about opals
by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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