As this project finally turn into serious idea I edit the first post, please consider it, and understand some replies from other members may not be accurate as I replaced pictures or deleted them.
My plan was to buy and modify a relicmaker idol, removing the original finish to bring it to a real antique precolombian artifact finish.
I also wanted to replace original eyes, for genuine glass eyes:
First because they were much more accurate on the statue, because of diameter and color.
That choice was also for aesthetics, as the finish looked much more natural.
Here is scale comparison,
On left side by side relicmaker vs screenshot, really enlarged, on right side by side modern vs antique glass eye:
From what I remember, my glass eye had 12mm iris and 3,5mm hole, I think the best would be a 3mm hole.
Sadly I lost those eyes, so I come back to A plan, which was much more elaborated, as the idea was to make stone or shell eyes.
So that is my ambitious plan for the next steps: carve eye body from white shell, and iris from rock crystal, it will have a backside, painted with pigments and I will use some black glue, preferably natural, to seal all together.
The shell base will be thick, but ot that thick, as I will drill entirely, as some people shared pictures later in this thread, precolombian statues had shell eyes, and drilled through, with different material insert, rock crystal was used in antique egyptian statues:
Egyptians did flat cabochon, with intaglio on back side to make the pupil, and pigment all around
I modified the cornea design a bit to get something even more realistic
Egyptian on left, my idea on right.
My plan was to buy and modify a relicmaker idol, removing the original finish to bring it to a real antique precolombian artifact finish.
I also wanted to replace original eyes, for genuine glass eyes:
First because they were much more accurate on the statue, because of diameter and color.
That choice was also for aesthetics, as the finish looked much more natural.
Here is scale comparison,
On left side by side relicmaker vs screenshot, really enlarged, on right side by side modern vs antique glass eye:
From what I remember, my glass eye had 12mm iris and 3,5mm hole, I think the best would be a 3mm hole.
Sadly I lost those eyes, so I come back to A plan, which was much more elaborated, as the idea was to make stone or shell eyes.
So that is my ambitious plan for the next steps: carve eye body from white shell, and iris from rock crystal, it will have a backside, painted with pigments and I will use some black glue, preferably natural, to seal all together.
The shell base will be thick, but ot that thick, as I will drill entirely, as some people shared pictures later in this thread, precolombian statues had shell eyes, and drilled through, with different material insert, rock crystal was used in antique egyptian statues:
Egyptians did flat cabochon, with intaglio on back side to make the pupil, and pigment all around
I modified the cornea design a bit to get something even more realistic
Egyptian on left, my idea on right.
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