Wulfenite with Descloizite

Unknown Owner

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This is a large and very showy cabinet piece of Wulfenite from this classic locale probably mined in the heyday here of the 1950s-1960s. It is a stunning piece just covered in wet looking, rich burnt orange, blocky crystals and accented in places by tiny, sparkling olive green Descloizite crystals. Most impressive. It features dozens of top quality crystals all over front, cascading down the one sloping edge and along undercut edge on the opposing side! The Wulfenite crystals in the central part of the piece are relatively large, averaging under a centimeter, however, the crystals on the two sloping edges of the specimen are big and vary in size from 1 and 1.5 cm and show subtle "sandwich" zoning that this locality is known for. These crystals in particular are super lustrous, slightly translucent so they glow a intense burnt orange. The central area with the smaller crystals is attractive in its own right with the Wulfenites highlighted by small clusters of petite (1 mm), sparkling olive green Descloizite crystals for great contrast with the orange Wulfenites. The piece is essentially pristine with maybe two slight dings on the bottom that are out of sight - it's a remarkable piece and so incredibly colorful! It stands on its own merit but ALSO was in the single most famous and important collection of Mexican minerals ever assembled, by former Senator in Mexico, Dr. Miguel Romero, in the 1960s-2000s (see our blog here https://www.irocks.com/the-miguel-romero-collection-of-mexican-minerals and also a book-length Mineralogical Record supplement on Dr. Romero). This was THE important Mexican collection. This specimen was actually loaned by the family, before he passed away, along with about 30 other pieces for display in the Houston Museum. During Covid years, in 2020-2021, we reached a deal with the family to purchase the collection on display and picked it up from the museum where these had been exhibited and loaned since 1996! Some of the finest Mexican material to hit the market, and a last chance at a cabinet sized old classic. It sits well on its own for display horizontally and comes with a custom lucite base for vertical display (as it was in the Museum for nearly 20 years).