Miner's Art: Painted Tsumeb Calcite. Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Oshikoto Region, Namibia. ...

Description

Miner's Art: Painted Tsumeb Calcite
Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Oshikoto Region, Namibia

"On one of Rock's end-of-the-year, round-the-world trips, he was in Tsumeb, buying whatever he could find. Rock brought Clive Queit lots of Krugerrands to pay for what he purchased on that trip, and for shipments sent during the previous year. After Rock bought what he could from Clive, he was "allowed" to go buy from the miners that would not sell to Clive. Clive being no dummy, made sure that he got to Rock's wallet first. On one such buying foray, Rock was in a miner's home and saw this painted Calcite. The miner's wife explained that she needed something to brighten up the house. Tsumeb is a small town and, at that time, there was little available for interior decoration. So she created this colorful statement piece by painting the "drab" Calcite her husband brought out of the mine in his lunch pail. She was not opposed to selling her artwork and tickled to get her own spending money! So into Rock's shipment it went: a unique piece of miner's art from a unique time."
- William W. Besse

Overall Measurements: 6.3 x 5.1 x 4.0 inches (15.9 x 13.0 x 10.2 cm)
Weight: 1,997 grams
Offered at no reserve

Provenance: Purchased from miner's wife in Tsumeb

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



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