# Malachite Banded Palm Stone

> A polished palm stone of banded malachite from the Democratic Republic of Congo, ringed in moss green and near-black like the rings of a felled tree. Cool and weighty in the hand: set it by the door.

Price: 29.00 USD · in stock

## About
Set it where the door swings open, where it will be seen and touched on the way in and out. This palm stone is made to be handled: cool in the curve of the palm, and a little heavier than its size suggests.Bands of green, some the color of moss and some nearly black, ring across its polished face like the rings inside a felled tree. It was cut from banded rock out of the Democratic Republic of Congo, now the source of most of the world's malachite, since the old Ural deposits at Gumeshevsky, which once supplied the malachite rooms of the Tsars, were largely exhausted by the nineteenth century. In folklore, malachite has been carried as a protective stone since antiquity: ground for eye paint along the Nile, pinned to children's clothing in Central Europe against the evil eye, and said to crack or dull when danger drew near.DetailsStone: Banded malachite, polished palm stoneOrigin: Democratic Republic of CongoCare: Soft and easy to scratch; keep dryHow to useKeep it on a shelf, desk or mantel rather than in a pocket, since malachite is soft as stones go. Never put it in water or tea: malachite dust is toxic, so keep the polish intact and dry. Handle it often; the shine only deepens with wear.A small green piece of very old lore for the door you pass every day.