Tarbuttite

Item Description

From the rare miniatures suite of noted dealer Charles Key. Tarbuttite is normally found as an often-ugly phosphate disparagingly referred to as a bat-poop mineral (because often it has formed under ancient caves layered with tens of thousands of years of deposition of mineral-rich bat guano, at other locales). However, the Skorpion Mine has changed that perception, at least for the specimens from there. Find of these apple-green crystals, in the last 5 years or so, has raised the bar. This is a rich miniature, solidly formed of Tarbuttite, with swerving and wave-like sprays of crystals all over it. Really, it looks like an aerial photo of the Himalayas, with the gray crystal terminations rising up to 1 cm above the 'foothills'. It is an OUTSTANDING example of a rare species, and also happens to be aesthetic to the rest of the collectors who do not care about its chemistry per se. A large, showy, full miniature, this is one of the more significant peices here, I think. I have seen similar on websites and at shows for $1500-2000, but we are really liquidating the Charlie Key collection we have left and so here it is...