In the 16th century, whenever a dramatically contorted chunk of ore emerged from a mine in Central Europe, the nearest prince would often lay claim to it. Favorite goldsmiths were then commissioned to transform the rough find into an improbable dollhouse-like sculpture known as a handstein, meaning “hand stone”—an artwork that was meant to be admired while held aloft. Well into the 1700s, samples like these, of minerals as rarefied as acanthite and aragonite, were set on fluted or scalloped pedestals made of precious metals. Brightly colored statuettes and buildings…
