Hematite "kidney ore" (old classic) ex Holden, Harvard & Kay Robertson

Item Description

An outstanding old-time hematite "kidney ore" specimen from the historic iron mines of Cleator Moor. Specimens from Cleator Moor are RARE compared to other famous areas of the West Cumberland Iron Field, such as Egremont and Frizington. Highly lustrous, gray-brown bubbly botryoids in a striking mounded form comprise this sculptural 360-degree mammilary specimen. This style of kidney ore is very rare from here and this exceptional piece has a fine provenance. Originally in the Albert Holden Collection, a famous and wealthy Harvard mining engineering alumni with major interests in Utah. He donated his substantial collection to Harvard in 1911. See the Mineralogical Record Biographical Archive on him at: http://www.minrec.org/labels.asp?colid=732. Ex Kay Robertson Collection # 1037 (probably acquired in the 1950s or earlier). Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record). valued $750