Pyromorphite (classic material)

Item Description

I have to believe there are hundreds if not thousands of localities where Pyromorphite worldwide, and specimens from the type locality in Germany are rare and desirable on the market. This piece is from the Heilige Dreifaltigkeit Mine, which is not specifically the type locality for the species, as Zschopau is the generally used locality name, but almost everything you see came from this mine. With that said, the piece is an antique, and could be over 200 years old as the species was first mentioned in literature dating back 1748, but it was properly named Pyromorphite by J. F. L. Hausmann in 1813. This attractive miniature features good sized crystals for the locality, measuring up to 1.2 cm long. They exhibit the classic vivid green hue associated with Zschopau Pyromorphites, with some golden overtones in areas. Attractive hexagonal prisms can be seen on every side of the piece, including the underside, and are intermixed with a bit of off-white Baryte. Most of the crystals are in good shape, though there are a few contacts, so the piece is not completely pristine. Still it's a very attractive and incredibly hard to find specimen that would make a wonderful addition to any collection of old European classics, worldwide Pyromorphites or secondary ore minerals, or specifically mineral specimens from the type locality. Valued $950.
From the collection of Kurt Hefendehl (#169 D), a well-known German collector all over Europe with worldwide contacts to dealers and collectors. He started collecting seriously at the age of 14 and his great and varied worldwide collection reached over 6000 pieces. He was very active mineralogically until shortly before his passing in 2020 at the age of 82. Considering his collection had a large number of pieces, it still had an unusually high standard of quality from most worldwide localities. He particularly specialized in all classics as well as minerals of the Black Forest, where he spent much time collecting. His Black Forest and German subcollections went to his good friend Wolfgang Wendel. We at The Arkenstone have the privilege of offering the remainder of this great worldwide collection for the foreseeable future through our various platforms.