LIZZADRO MUSEUM of LAPIDARY ART
Elmhurst, Illinois

Virtual Tour
October 29, 2008
As we have consistently seen photos and articles about this museum, we stopped in on our way to Wisconsin and were not disappointed. Two floors, tastefully arranged, about all you would want to see in an afternoon. The lower floor has displays but also a classroom for school groups to come to learn about rocks & minerals. We recommend this as a destination if you are ever in the Chicago area. It is in a suburb of Chicago, easy to locate off the main freeway.
Below is a memorial portrait of Joseph Lizzadro, Sr. made of 1300 pieces of gemstones without using grout, created by Bruno Lastrucci of Florence Italy. The tecnique is called "commesso di pietra dura" (the joining together of hard stone).

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RAW GEMSTONES & BOULDERS |
Petrified wood trunk at the side entrance, 2300 pounds, from Arizona

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Moss agate boulder, 1300 pounds, from India


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Michigan copper/silver "Half breed", 1091 pounds


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Nephrite jade from the Fraser River, British Columbia, Canada


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Jadeite boulder, Burma
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Petrified palm wood, Texas

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Petrified oak, Washington State, a beautiful "butterfly"
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Palm wood tree trunk, Texas
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Angel wing Calcite, Mexico
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Float jade, Wyoming
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Itacalumite
Ever hear of a rock that bends? Flexible sandstone is called The Bending Rock. Some of the cementing material between the grains has weakened, and mica particles between the grains allow for minute slippage
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Copper, Michigan
Botryoidal Hematite, Brazil

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Ruby in Zoisite slice, the color was unforgettable. The close up photos are great screen savers

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Ilya Schar GEM PAINTINGS
(Moscow born artist), uses ground gemstones to create these unique paintings
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School of fish

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Peacock

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Beaks

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GEMSTONE CARVINGS |
Jade (Jadeite) bowl, China. A delicate green/lavender, this is an exquisite carving



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The Harvest, Amber from Italy



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Madonna, Rutilated smoky quartz, Germany


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Intarsia Boxes,
Nicolai Medvedev
Memorial Box


Box of rhodochrosite, malachite, etc.

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Rose quartz bowl, Germany
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Amethyst bowl, Germany

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Nephrite Jade bowl


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Rhodochrosite
bowl, Germany

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Bowl in Ruby zoisite, Germany


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White Nephrite Jade, Ceremonial Vase, Moghul-style carving (descendants of Tamerlane and Genghis Khan, combined Persian and Hindu influences); the walls are 1/16" thick

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Agate & Obsidian carving, Glenn Lehrer

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Ornamental bottle, Rock Crystal, China


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Polar jade, Polar Mine, British Columbia, Canada
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Turquoise, from the collection of Cheng Kong Man Ying

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Chloromelanite Jadeite, China


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Guan Yin or Guanyin (Godess of Mercy and Compassion, and Protectress of Children), Coral, China's most popular deity. Created from a single jadeite boulder in the 20th century


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Rare Hanging Bottle, Nephrite Jade, China

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Rare blue jadeite imperial pagoda, China, made during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795), used t burn incense in the Imperial Palace in Beijing, China. The blue jade was mined in Burma


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Glacier's Edge; bears-dolomite, ice-quartz

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Large Nephrite Bi
This large prayer disc is the oldest piece in the Museum, made to honor the birthday of Emperor Zhu Gong who lived about 600 B.C. The bi symbolized the visible sun or moon disc, used in the worship of the heavens. This large size indicates the high station of the owner. The unusual color is due to the presence of iron oxide as the nephrite jade was forming.

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POLISHED GEM CABOCHONS |
Oregon jasper
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Hematite, Brazil

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Thomsonite, Michigan

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Bruneau Jasper, Idaho

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Snow Mountain Jasper, Colorado

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Gingko wood, Washington State

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Poppy Jasper, California

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Laguna agate, Mexico

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Marcasite agate, Michigan

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Moctezuma agate, Mexico

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CASTLE LIZZADRO
This gemstone creation turns 360 degrees to music
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Dedicated to the memory of Chris Lizzadro (grandson of the Museum's founer) and to other children whose lives ended with dreams unfulfilled. Crated by William Tolliday of London England in 1984 on Brazilian agate, the 18k gold castle rises from specimens of amethyst, malachite, azurite and vanadium. Faceted diamonds sparkle in the windows, giving the appearance of an occupied residence, ready to welcome weary travelers.

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EIGHTEEN LOHAN, disciples of Buddha, Ivory

shown in exaggerated realism to emphasize their denial of earthly pleasures.
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IVORY CARVINGS |
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Last Supper, Italy, 19th century, based on Leonardo da Vinci's painting
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Ivory, Japan

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Ivory balls within balls
How ivory puzzle balls are made

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Ivory balls within balls, 24 spheres, all move independently inside each other, carved in late 19th Century China. Elegance, delicacy, and intricacy are the requisite characteristics (ya, hsi, and fan)


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CAMEOS
It is believed the first cameo was made in Alexandria in 332 B.C. and the art peaked in the Roman Empire 70 A.D. Sardonyx stone from India & Arabia was later used due to the contrasting dark & light layers.
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SHELL CARVED CAMEOS
Full shell carving
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Mother of Good Counsel (Council?)
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Holy Child

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Madonna

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Priest & holy child

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Madonna & child

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Praying child

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Wise man with holy child

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African portrait

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Elizabethan style woman

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Will Rogers
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Richard Wagner

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Giuseppe Verdi

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AGATE CARVED CAMEOS
Stages of carving cameos on agate, on a slab of natural slab of agate.

Cameos with 3 or more layers of color are rare. These cameos are natural in color.
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OTHER GEMSTONE CARVED CAMEOS |
Tiger eye
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Bloodstone

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Malachite

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Amethyst

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ANIMAL CARVINGS
The dioramas were created in Idar-Oberstein, Germany, a lapidary center in Europe.
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Woodpeckers in Jasper and tigereye, feet 14k gold

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Bears, mahogany obsidian
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"Ziggy", an Asian bull elephant in sheen obsidian, replica of him in Cage 1974, Brookfield Zoo; he lived till 1976. The ivory tusks were carved from a piece of his own broken tusk
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Aquarium of fish
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Diorama, The Holdup, Mahogany Obsidian


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Robins, jasper, obsidian, chalcedony

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Tyrannosaurus Rex, Brontosaurus, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Pteradactyl and others



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Bear in Nephrite Polar jade, British Columbia, Canada

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Parrot
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SNUFF BOTTLES |
Black Opal
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White opal

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White opal

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Tourmaline

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Amber

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