Copal With Insects 11.8cm

Copal with insects for sale from Madagascar

Measuring 11.8cm long this beautiful unique piece of copal resin displays a beautiful golden translucent colour and has been highly polished to reveal a wonderful interior full of gorgeous insects and plant material frozen in time.

This particular piece displays:

A large unidentified insect, wood boring beetles and various flying insects and plant material

The copal has been highly polished and makes an excellent display piece without the high cost of its equivalent in amber. This is a wonderful opportunity to gain a unique piece of natural history.

What Is Copal Resin ?

Copal is a fossilised tree sap which is found in the north eastern area of Madagascar which is an island off of the east coast of Africa. The area in which it is found is also very famous for Vanilla Pods. Madagascan vanilla is prized as having the finest Vanilla in the world. Copal is formed from  sticky sap running out and down the tree until it finally stops and has formed a long sticky mass. When it’s in its sticky state insects would land on the resin and become trapped in the sticky residue. Over time the resin would flow over the top and encapsulate the insect or plant matter in a lost world. Copal is not as old as Amber and it is at an intermediate stage of polymerisation.

Copal has been used as incense through many cultures around the world notably by the Maya and Aztecs. It gives off an unmistakeable smell of pine when burnt.

Madagascan copal is very prized for the clarity and for the diverse range of material trapped within which can sometimes be small gecko lizards.

Product Reference Number:21558