Included in this lot is a hand carved horse head Australian boulder opal. Boulder opal is a rock that contains thin seams and patches of opal surrounded by, or attached to its natural host rock. The cutter studies this rock and decides how to cut the best possible gem. That gem might be cut to display seams and patches of precious opal as they appear within their natural host rock. Alternatively, the stone can be cut in an orientation that presents a thin seam of precious opal as the face of the gem with its natural host rock as a backing. Some people also consider "boulder opal" to be an ingenious cutting style that beautifully utilizes small seams and patches of precious opal that are too small to cut into gems of solid opal. This hand carved Australian ironstone horse head features a beautiful matrix of blue opal with flashes of precious coloring. The horse effigy shows an incredible attention of detail to the mane and face. The piece measures approximately 1 ¼” x 1 ½”.