Rhodochrosite (Gift Of Japanese Commission, 1893, to Amnh) - image 1

Rhodochrosite (Gift Of Japanese Commission, 1893, to Amnh) - image 2

Rhodochrosite (Gift Of Japanese Commission, 1893, to Amnh) - image 3

Rhodochrosite (Gift Of Japanese Commission, 1893, to Amnh)

Unknown Owner

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This piece is a rare locality specimen, with a long history. Firstly, it has unusual, curved, flattened disc-shaped crystals and is notable simply for the unusual habit for the species. It was reported in INTRODUCTION TO JAPANESE MINERALS (1970) that "Although the mine was closed long ago, rhodochrosite crystals found at Kuratani are worth notice. They form flat rhombohedral faces which are so curved as to form radial and somewhat petalloidal groups, in roseflower-like aggregates." We believe that this specimen was exhibited at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 (at which there was a major Japanese governmental and institutional presence, for example see: http://www.baxleystamps.com/litho/ogawa/ogawa_hooden.shtml). The mineral specimens brought by Japan were then donated with ceremony to the Smithsonian Institute. This old, yellowed Smithsonian label in fact notes the date (1893) corresponding to the fair donation, and that the piece was accessioned from the Imperial Japanese Commission (if we read the label correctly). Traded out of the Smithsonian in the 1970s, this piece has since been in the private collection of Lawrence Conklin.