About Amber Art
Amber is ancient tree resin that flowed out of a combination of coniferous trees in what today is geographically called the Baltic region. What we know today as amber formed 40-60 million years ago as the multi-colored substance (it is white, clear, yellow, orange, and has over 250 known hues in various forms) seeped from ancient pine bearing trees. As the then liquid substance trickled slowly down the bark it was deposited in the soil at the base of the trees. Over the years it was covered, while still in its gummy form, until there was enough pressure exuded on it that it could harden.
Unlike fossilized wood it does not hold the properties of minerals, but nature's version of million-year-old fiberglass. Because it was compressed by sediment, experienced severe climactic changes (like the great ice age), and was in some instances submerged by salt water it oxidized over millions of years. However, this oxidization was so slow that the chemical properties that made it sticky left the material and shrunk it, but without causing cracking. As it oxidized it hardened due to the polymerization (the rearranging of molecules) of the resin under the conditions that it was found.
The appeal of amber for peoples of the world can be dated back over 10,000 years. Amber is found in burial chambers, it has helped track ancient trade routes, and is documented in literature and the mythology of many pre-Christian cultures. Another appealing aspect of amber is that it is warm. When a person picks up a rock, a piece of glass, or a crystal it is cold and hard. When a piece of amber is picked up it is light, warm, and soft; not unlike a piece of paper-mache.
(Text is taken from our longer article on amber Read the full article)
