Michael has made ‘Petrospheres’ from Lignum Vitae before, but this one is inspired by the Towie ball.

This beautiful carved stone ball was found in Aberdeenshire. People have long wondered about what it was and how it was used, but it had clearly been a precious possession and a symbol of power. This beautiful Neolithic carved stone ball dates back over 5000 years. Made of a black, fine-grained stone, it has an average diameter of 73mm and weighs just over 500g. It has four discs or knobs, of which three are intricately carved and the fourth is blank. The ball was discovered when a drain was cut several feet underground on the slopes of Glaschul Hill, Towie, in or before 1860

Informaation and pictures taken from The National Museum of Scotland

Turned from an old bowling ball with 4 faces, the shaping and decoration was then all hand carved. All 4 faces have been decorated with patterns inspired by the designs on the Towie ball.

The ‘Petrosphere’ sits on a limed oak base with Neolithic inspired decoration including the Brodgar butterfly.