Orpiment

Item Description

These specimens are the finest examples of Orpiment from any locality in South America, and certainly rank among the better examples of the species worldwide. They were found a few decades ago (late 1970s - early 1980s), and they have stood the test of time in terms of their crystal size, quality, color and morphology. The famous Quiruvilca Mine is well-known for its sulfide minerals, and these Orpiments are certainly in the upper tiers of minerals from this locality. This piece features a beautiful group of sharp, well-formed, rich orange colored prismatic crystals of Orpiment measuring up to 1.6 cm, sitting on a bit of matrix, to create a showy overall specimen. If you look at the last photo, you'll see that one of the crystals is notably "bent", which is not terribly common for Orpiment crystals, especially this size. There is very little damage, and the crystals glow with color when backlit. You don't see many of aesthetic display pieces of Orpiment from this mine, so don't miss out on this one, as they are not commonly seen on the market today. Please note that this pieces comes with an acrylic base for display, but it's not a custom base in terms of being pre-fitted to the shape of the specimen, it's simply a flat acrylic base with the species and locality information printed on the front. From the collection of Wendell Overcash.