On the present box a single hardstone, labradorite, was used, exploiting the iridescence from below the surface of the stone that occurs when light is reflected between the layers of minerals. Thus as the box is turned in the hand the wings and bodies of the labradorite insects shimmer and appear to change colour. This effect is all the more felicitous as it evokes the iridescent surface of the wings of many butterflies and moths. To increase the naturalistic appearance of the insects the legs and antennae have been cut into the white quartz ground and the resultant grooves stained black.

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