Orpiment - image 1

Orpiment

M

MIM Museum
0 for sale
Sheaf of long, transparent, amber-colored crystals on white calcite, with a calcite scalenohedron penetrating one of the orpiment crystals at mid-height and some small red realgar crystals.

Product details

Species
OrpimentAbout Orpiment →
Added on11/10/2024
Locality
China, Hunan, Shimen MineRegional guide →

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Orpiment
Mineral guide
Learn about Orpiment
lemon-yellow arsenic sulfide with silky luster and foliated crystals; prized for color and dramatic display, with notable localities in Nevada, Huna…
Orpiment
Regional guide
Orpiment from Shimen Mine, Hunan, China
Shimen orpiment is one of the great modern Chinese arsenic-sulfide classics: bright yellow to orange, locally honey-brown and reddish near terminations, with unusually well-formed free-standing crystals for a species that more often occurs as foliated masses, crusts, or earthy coatings. Fine pieces show the combination collectors want most from this locality—lustrous prismatic blades or elongated crystals rising from white to colorless calcite, often with a flash of associated red realgar. The effect can be electric: warm, translucent orpiment against a cool carbonate matrix, a color pairing that immediately separates Shimen from most ordinary arsenic-sulfide specimens.