Epidote

$250.00

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Withamite is an unusual pink (generally manganese-rich) variety of Epidote and Thulite is the pink equivalent of Zoisite. This fascinating historical specimen is unusual in providing a remarkably detailed provenance for such an obscure Austrian locality. Coming as it does from the remarkable systematic collection assembled by the brothers Martin and Michael Günther (1951-2007 & 1956-2021) it is accompanied by much older labels, including one from Karl Jakob Wilhelm Ludwig von Koch (1827-1882), Prussian State geologist. Koch's wonderfully detailed handwritten label appears to confuse Epidote with Zoisite (as Thulite) but this probably reflects the limited chemical analysis of this material. It does however describe the locality as Schwarzenstein, when most historic specimens are simply recorded as the wider Zillerthal region. Another label with this specimen is from the Senckenberg Museum of Nature in Frankfurt am Main where Koch's collection ended up. Although the Epidote/Zoisite crystals are small, they are gemmy and well-formed and present very nicely for a piece that is over 150 years old.