Details
Species
Sbn
Description
A stunning large cabinet-sized specimen of wonderfully crystallised Stibnite from the legendary Ichinokawa mine on Shikoku Island, Japan. Now completely worked out with not even a micro-crystal of Stibnite to be found, this most famous of mines operated for many centuries until finally closing in the 1950s. Records of its long history document antimony from here being used in the bronze casting of the Great Buddha of Nara in 748 AD. This beautiful specimen is composed entirely of elongated Stibnite crystals averaging 3 to 4 cm long, lying parallel to one another and layered in a way whereby countless terminations are displayed to full advantage. The crystals are a bluish-tinted steely silver with a bright metallic lustre and terminate in sharp chisel-like tips. The specimen does contain some broken crystals but these are few and do not detract from the aesthetic. Some faces display a subtle iridescence, so typical of the metalloid group of elements, those with properties between those of metals and non-metals. A magnificent large cabinet specimen from without doubt, the most famous Stibnite mine in the world, Ichinokawa.
Origin
