Cuprite with Malachite and Calcite

Item Description

A classic, shapely, modified Cuprite octahedron with an alteration coating of Malachite, from the famous Onganja (Emke) Mine in Namibia. The green Malachite coating is certainly attractive, but when you realize that the edges of the octahedron are beveled, and these modified edges have PREFERENTIAL coatings of both dark and light green Malachite, you should be blown away both visually and intellectually by the sublteties here. On reflection, the results of these modifications are inspiring! The attachment point at the base reveals the deep-red Cuprite. This is a classic piece from the Ongonja (Emke) Mine at Ongonja, Namibia, and they came out over four decades ago, in the 70's and 80's only. These historic specimens of Cuprite are still unique in the world. They only come now out of old collections and we have seen several of similar size and perhaps lesser form, priced in the range of $4000-5000 for something similar to this, at shows by multiple dealerships - and they sell. Formerly in the collections of Tom McKee and W & A Cook, this was one of their better items by modern standards, in terms of overall aesthetics and value. The specimen is striking and unusual because it does have some minimal bits of matrix as contrast, which is rare.