Chalcocite

$5,000.00

$40.00 shipping
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This superb large miniature to small cabinet specimen of Chalcocite from St. Ives Consols in Cornwall is an absolute delight to behold. Not only is it wonderfully crystallized in the most distinctive way, but it has a remarkable heritage behind it as well. It consists of extremely rich, scale-like platy crystal aggregates of dark, almost bluish-grey Chalcocite, some showing a rosette-like form upon larger hexagonal Chalcocite crystals up to 1.4 cm across on a Quartz-Bornite matrix. The layers of hexagonal Chalcocite microcrystals are like a work of art under the microscope and remarkably free from damage. It is accompanied by a succession of interesting old labels. Their context is recorded in the typically detailed label from Peter S. Burr. Starting out with the American dealer Louis Stadtmüller (1821-1903) from New Haven, it was acquired by Clarence Bement (1843-1923) from whom it entered the American Museum of Natural History. Later, it was acquired by Herbert Obodda from whom Peter Burr acquired it. Interestingly, Louis Stadtmüller worked for a time as an assayer at the Bristol copper mine in Connecticut, famed for fine crystallized Chalcocite specimens, but in this case all of the historic labels support the St. Ives provenance. The crystal form is exquisite, and under the microscope is the most beautiful Chalcocite specimen I have ever seen.