Mica / Sericite pseudomorph after Cordierite-Indialite ("Cherry Blossom") (RARE MATRIX piece) (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

A beautiful and very well-formed specimen of the noted and very hard to find "cherry blossom" pseudoromphs from Kameoka City. These specimens are replacements of silvery-golden Muscovite Mica (variety "Sericite") after trapiche habit Cordierite-Indialite. The two species are dimorphous, and Indialite forms at higher temperatures, which is why we see the hexagonal dark lines of the pseudomrphs (Indialite), which eventually cooled down and became the lighter colored Cordierite in between. The form creates a very beautiful pattern, not unlike trapiche Corundum with a radial hexagonal shape, sometimes referred to as a "sakura ishi" (cherry blossom stones). This name has a bit of a confusing history, because it was originally described by Kikuchi as "Cerasite" which was the name for the trapice habit of Cordierite, and perhaps coincidentally lead to confusion about the origin of the name for Sericite. The majority of these specimens measure about 5 - 6 mm across, and weather typically out of hornfels, so they're rarely seen on matrix. THIS PIECE is an exceptionally rare matrix example of this classic material, and the pseudomorph has excellent form with sharp internal lines. The pseudomorph measures 8 mm across, which is good sized for the material. As far as I know there is only one locality for this material in the world, and pieces with sharp defined form like this are few and far between. Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#6729). Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Welt" November-December 2017).