Cerussite included with Malachite (illustrated in Tsumeb book) - image 1

Cerussite included with Malachite (illustrated in Tsumeb book) - image 2

Cerussite included with Malachite (illustrated in Tsumeb book)

Cerussite is one of the great Tsumeb's signature species of Tsumeb, and it is especially desirable when twinned. This is that and more...because it is from the so-called "Green Pocket" of the 1970s. At Tsumeb in the 1970s-80s, we had rare pockets of either red or green cerussite, colored by other minerals and unique to this location: and the green is rarest of all. Here, the core of the Cerussite is a tightly reticulated (twinned) boxwork that blooms into larger blades up to 1.4 cm, all gemmy and sparkling and clear. This largest blade well shows the high luster and gemminess that some of the cerussite possesses, and much of it is included by Malachite, which also shows itself as a rick green color at the core of the cluster. This gives the crystals a very pleasant shade of green, which is not a common occurrence at Tsumeb and is unique to this mine and pocket. Specimens of this material are, as you can imagine, unbelievably hard to come by today, and only come in the collections assembled during that time. In addition to the good form and aesthetics, this piece was actually pictured in the Mineralogical Record's major Tsumeb Issue of 1980: Vol. 8, No. 3, Fig. 1, This was the PIVOTAL issue of MR about Tsumeb that helped catapult the specimens from this mine into a new age of fame and collectibility in the so-called Golden Age of Minerals. It was the first MR special folio with color photos inside (although this piece fell outside the specially funded color photography section). This piece is shown on Page 100, where it notes that it was in the Ed and Jeri Ruggiero collection, with a personal inscribed note from Ed written within (yes, we have his actual copy here, of the book - and it is included free of charge). Having a published piece is an important addition for a collection, but this is above and beyond - the first documented publication of a piece from this pocket with the ID associated. Ed was a Dallas area collector and we bought his collection in the early 2000s. The piece came from legendary dealers Miriam and Julius Zweibel to Ed Ruggeiro; and then to us. We sold it to Marshall and Charlotte Sussman back in the early 2000s, and they sold it (through Star Van Scriver) to Erika Pohl sometime after, when they parted with their rarities/esoterica suite. A long history to a small specimen, but also a small specimen with outsized impact both for locality significance and its beauty. Note that this is properly a small miniature, if standing pure vertical, but could be considered an overly large thumbnail as well. Dr. Erika Pohl-Ströher - SCH3121

Unknown Owner

Product details

Species

Malachite, Cerussite

SizeMiniature

Dimensions2.9 x 2.7 x 2.3 cm

Locality

Namibia, Oshikoto Region, Tsumeb

Added on10/17/2025

Comments

Known provenance

2025/10