UNIQUE hand-carved ANTIQUE Kauri Gum CARVING of Her Majesty Queen Victoria

She is wearing her Small Diamond Crown in this Kauri Gum tribute

The Small Diamond Crown of Queen Victoria is a miniature imperial and state crown made at the request of Queen Victoria in 1870 to wear over her widow's cap following the death of her husband, Prince Albert. It was perhaps the crown most associated with the queen and is one of the Crown Jewels on public display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.

I have attempted to show her clearly from every angle

I also have SEVERAL OTHER interesting gum pieces listed for sale so please do SEE my "Seller's Other Auctions"

The images on your computer screen should be "Larger than life"

NO RESERVE

NO "Buy it Now"

WEIGHT approx. 93.62 grams

PROVENANCE = Ex The Holloway private family MUSEUM in Whanganui city, North Island, New Zealand.

The entire collection of which, was auctioned-off last week in Wellington

Kauri gum is a fossilized resin detracted from kauri trees (Agathis australis), which is made into crafts such as jewellery

Kauri forests once covered much of the North Island of New Zealand, before Maori and European settlers caused deforestation, causing several areas to revert to sand dunes, scrubs, and swamps. Even afterward, ancient kauri fields continued to provide a source for the gum and the remaining forests

Kauri gum formed when resin from kauri trees leaked out through fractures or cracks in the bark, hardening with the exposure to air. Lumps commonly fell to the ground and became covered with soil and forest litter, eventually fossilising. Other lumps formed as branches forked or trees were damaged, which released the resin

In 1898, the "Kauri Gum Industry Act" was passed, which reserved gum-grounds for British subjects, and requiring all other diggers to be licensed.

By 1910, only British subjects could hold gum-digging licences.