Fluorite epimorph after Calcite with Calcite

Item Description

This item is part of a special benefit auction for the Rice Museum of Rocks & Minerals (ricenorthwestmuseum.org). Items are either deaccessions from the museum's collection or were donated by generous supporters listed below.

Auction open April 1, 2021 through April 17, 2021.

Billing for this auction will occur on Monday, April 19, for payment using PayPal or credit card. Shipping will be billed at cost, or please contact brandy@mineralauctions.com if you'd like to plan on picking up items at future shows or during a stop through Dallas.

Here we have a Fluorite epimorph after Calcite sprinkled with Calcite, a contrast of color and texture. The mines of Santa Eulalia have produced a variety of minerals and mineral textures through their incredibly productive history and this piece is one of those examples of diversity. The off-white to purple-gray, highly aggregated, 5 mm, Fluorite cubes appear to have grown on some botryoidal to stalactitic Calcite that was later dissolved leaving a cast of Fluorite, itself subsequently adorned with 2 to 8 mm sprays of a later generation of bright white clusters composed of spiky Calcite crystals. Overall just a beautiful, artlike composition piece. Per MINDAT's Definition of epimorph: A hollow shell, or mold, left by a mineral that had overgrown an initial mineral which has dissolved away.