Erythrite on Calcite

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A large plate hosting several clusters of vibrant, magenta Erythrite crystals from finds at the Bou Azzer Mine in the 1980s. There is one dominant cluster on the piece and two smaller ones, all of them made up of fantastic fanned groups of prismatic, wedge-shaped terminated crystals of the deepest magenta. Some of them are translucent and display internal reflections with a brighter magenta color. The Erythrite crystals are between 0.5 and 2 cm in length with good luster and they contrast nicely with the the tan to smoky hued carpet of small Calcite crystals. This big specimen has a dominant core crystal cluster that measures 5.5 cm across. The two smaller groups, at over 2.5 cm, also stand out conspicuously on the contrasting substrate. This locality is the only contemporary source of great examples of the species since the historic Schneeberg, Germany locale is long defunct. There is only a very minor amount of slight bruising to the tips on a few of the crystals which is incredible since this was collected four decades ago. A stately specimen of this amazing cobalt arsenate mineral, in rather large size! This perhaps came from an incredible selection brought out in the early 2000s by French dealer Francois Lietard.