u/Expensive_Leek3401

Received today along with some lapis pieces. I wasn’t expecting the package until Friday, so it was a pleasant surprise.

Everything about this screams howlite to me, BUT it seems to have copper inclusions/matrix in it.

I don’t want to do the acetone test, since it looks funky to me, and, if it’s howlite, that would ruin it.

Does anyone have thoughts?

They’re badly damaged on the back, but I was wondering if these are contraluz, because the color shift feels like it only occurs on the surface, as opposed to inside the stone.

I purchased this a bit over a decade ago, without knowing what it really was (thought it looked familiar, at the time). Recently, I stumbled upon it and verified that it was signed by Charlie Benante in 1985. The drawing and ink are live, so my assumption is this might have been an early version of Sargent D from Stormtroopers of Death.

Anyway, it currently sits in my art folio, as that was the only archival grade storage that I had available. That said, I would like it authenticated.

Does anyone know who is the best authenticator for the art element of the image? If not, at the least, which TPA that can encapsulate the item would be the best to go to?

Would this be considered transparent, since I can see the lines through the opal?