Ben Ansley alabaster Kaleidoscope (this is so cool) on alabaster plinth. The round stone wheels turn to change the image in the tube. Signed BTAIV. Ben Ansley IV, a Lutz sculptor, began dabbling in kaleidoscopes in 1992 when he met some makers of the optical instruments at a wholesale show in Miami. Ansley starts by cutting alabaster boulders from Utah into long blocks with a diamond-blade saw before grinding them down further into cylinders. Then he hollows out the cylinder with a drill. Next, he lines the cylinder with mirrors and drills a small hole at the other end that holds a lens. He cuts millefiori, fancy multicolored glass strands from Italy, into tiny bits and puts them in a fluid-filled glass "object chamber" fitted to an alabaster base. Finally, he secures the chamber to the hollowed, mirrored cylinder with stone adhesive. Excellent condition, minor scratch on bottom, see pictures. Measures 2" dia. x 8.25" long x 3" tall.