Spessartine Garnet with Tantalite-(Mn) (ex Francesco Bedogne Collection)

Item Description

A rarely seen association specimen from Shengus featuring a pair of fine, very sharp, highly lustrous, translucent, rich wine red colored, trapezohedral crystals of Spessartine Garnet measuring up to 1.2 cm which are associated with dark reddish-black (nearly black) Tantalite-(Mn) plus Smoky Quartz, Albite and Muscovite on this showy old-time specimen from a classic and important locale in Pakistan. One rarely sees Spessartine with Tantalite-(Mn) from Shengus on the market, and if you collect pegmatite minerals, don't miss out on this very attractive piece from this classic locale. Valued at $1,950. From the worldwide collection of famed Italian mineral collector, field collector and author, Francesco Bedogne of Sondrio, Italy (Collection #1306). Bedogne wrote dozens of articles and several books about the mineralogy of Italian Alpine localities such as Val Bregaglia, Val Masino, Val Codera, Val Spluga, Valtellina and the famous Val Malenco. He was also the founder of the Valtellinese Mineralogical Institute. The piece comes with an old label from Deyrolle in Paris, and from Italian collector A. Citran.