“… a lump of black stone, rudely annotated with queer marks and scratches … a thing about two inches long, and something like an old-fashioned tobacco stopper …”
– The Novel of the Black Seal, by Arthur Machen, 1895.
“… The wonders of the people that inhabit the inner parts of Libya, and of the stone called Sixtystone … They boast of a certain stone, which they call Sixtystone; for they say that it displays sixty characters. And this stone has a secret unspeakable name; which is Ixaxar.”
“… I do not know whether I can give you an idea of the sound. “Ishakshar” is perhaps as near as I can get …”
This is my ‘replica’ of the Black Seal, built in Tinkercad and 3D printed in solid Black, Strong and Flexible by Shapeways. Apologies for the dark picture – Henry Akeley was right – black stones are hard to photograph.
GNDN 