Azurite (circa 1920)

Item Description

This is one superb Azurite specimen from a famous 1920s era find at Tsumeb, and the Academy of Sciences expedition for minerals in Africa at the time! It is an absolutely splendid, robust, deep-blue, well formed, lustrous Azurite crystal with a touch of contrasting cream colored Dolomite matrix near the top and spotted along one side. There is also a shorter, parallel growth sidecar crystal at the front as well, and both crystals are lightly striated in the long dimension on the prism faces. This has to be one of the finest small cabinet sized crystals of Azurite that I have seen from this old discovery. The termination is chisel-shaped, incredibly sharp, and broad. There are only two miniscule dings, one at the top termination and one on a side edge of the termination. From the old collection of the Philadelphia Academy of Science, notably purchased in location by their curator at the time on his famous field expedition there (sponsored by the great collector family Vaux, based in Boston). Sometimes this is referred to as the Sam Gordon Pocket of 1928 but they perhaps were found earlier. Custom base included. Recently from the Vasco Trancoso collections, and with all labels. Valued $7500-9500.