Pyrite (Hefendehl Coll.) - old Chinese classic find

Item Description

Impressive and sculptural intergrown cluster of pyrite cubes, highlighted by the striking, dominating 6.8 cm crystal. The sharp, aesthetically intergrown cubes have mirror-bright lustre and brass-yellow color, which enhances the striking striated faces. Old Chinese material, comparable to the best of Peru, today! The numerous embedded smaller pyrites add even more character. The polymetallic skarn-type Shangbao Mine is one of China's and the world's great fluorite producing locales. The iron portion of the skarn has produced some very fine pyrite specimens, such as this outstanding small cabinet. See the 2012 Mineralogical Record article in Special China Issue-4, Vol. 43, No. 5. Ex Hefendehl Collection. Kurt Hefendehl was a most well-known collector in the mineral world all over Europe with worldwide contacts to dealers and collectors. He started seriously collecting in the age of 14 and his great and various worldwide collection reached a number of over 6000 pieces. He was incredibly mineralogically active, until shortly before his passing in 2020 in the age of 82 years. His collection had, considering that high number of pieces, an unusual high quality standard from most worldwide localities. He particularly specialized in all classics; and the minerals of the Black Forest where he spent many visits collecting (that and the Germany subcollection went to his good friend Wolfgang Wendel. The Italian suite went to Marini). We have the rest to offer over the next 2-3 years, through our platforms. We have lost a great friend and connoisseur, a true mineral collector of the Golden Age. Most pyrite crystals are under 5 cm from Shangbao, making this a rare high quality piece with a VERY LARGE crystal from 1990s finds. Chinese pyrites of this quality could hold their own with good Peruvian specimens.