Here is one of the largest and most spectacular 'animal skin' marbles that the prolific Mark Matthews creates, the Reticulated Giraffe, with only the Masai Giraffe being larger. This is an early example of this marble, made in 1999, but actually, I think Mark has made VERY few of these in the 2000's, and there are very few of these in existence at all. At over 5", it is one of the largest and heaviest marbles you'll ever hold in your hands, as very few glass artists in the world will attempt to make a sphere that is 5" or larger, as it is a phenomenal amount of hot, heavy work, especially when working with soft glass, which is much heavier than boro (very noticeable at this size). Words can't begin to describe how awesome these animal skin marbles are, and you HAVE to get one in hand to see how incredible they are. The graal technique is used to make these, and even though I understand graal, I still scratch my head trying to figure out exactly how he makes these. This marble in particular is just legendary, and I doubt Mark will ever make more of them at his advanced age, so if you want one, don't miss this rare opportunity!! Signed 'Matthews 1999'.