Miner's Art: Pyrite Flowerpot (Proceeds to benefit mindat.org). Morococha, Peru. ...

Description

for MINDAT.ORG

Miner's Art: Pyrite Flowerpot (Proceeds to benefit mindat.org)
Morococha, Peru

High in the Peruvian Andes, way above the treeline, at 14,895-foot elevation, sits the mining town of Morococha. Not a lot there except the mine itself and a town for the miners and their families. Under the shadow of the Toromocho Mountain, the locals fashioned flower pots out of concrete and festooned them with bright, shiny pieces of Pyrite, just to brighten their homes. Rock drove his rental VW into the district in 1974, searching for mineral specimens. What a sight he must have been to the diminutive Peruvians: a giant of a man unfolding from a small VW beetle asking about rocks. Currier took photos of the area, including these photos of the miner, his family, and the flowerpots they made. (The photos are the only records of the area on mindat.org.) He purchased the largest flowerpot as a souvenir of his trip and shipped all 35 pounds of it back to California. The times have changed mightily since then but there is still the Pyrite flowerpot ...

Proceeds from this lot will go to mindat.org, Rock's favorite organization.
Overall Measurements: 15.0 x 7.8 x 5.0 inches (38.1 x 19.7 x 12.7 cm)
Weight: 15,758 grams
Offered at no reserve

Provenance: Purchased at the locality in 1974

[Scale: 1 inch, with mark at 1 cm]

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