Pearl or parasite enters a bivalve mollusk and settles inside the shell. The mollusk, irritated by the intruder, forms a pearl sac of external mantle tissue cells and secretes the calcium carbonate and conchiolin to cover the irritant. This secretion process is repeated many times, thus producing a pearl. Natural pearls come in many shapes, with perfectly round ones being comparatively rare. Typically, the build-up of a natural pearl consists of a brown central zone formed by columnar calcium carbonate (usually calcite, sometimes columnar aragonite) and a yellowish to white outer zone consisting of nacre (tabular aragonite). In a pearl cross-section
The Pearl and the Wave The Pearl and the Wave The Pearl and the Wave (French: La Perle et la vague), also known as The Wave and the Pearl, is a painting by the French artist Paul-Jacques-Aimé Baudry created in 1862. The painting shows a nude woman lying on the edge of a rocky sea shore, with her head turned to gaze backward over her shoulder towards the viewer. Waves are breaking in the background. "The Pearl and the Wave" was the subject of contemporary curiosity. The painting was met with praise from art critics for its technique and distinguishing quality. Artist Kenyon Cox described