HEMATITE. Elba Island, Livorno Province, Tuscany, Italy. ... (Total: 2 Items)

Description

HEMATITE
Elba Island, Livorno Province, Tuscany, Italy

If there was ever a specimen that simultaneously combined low value components with high-voltage aesthetics, this has got to be the one. In form, it is a 'nice' example of mammillary growth, but just 'nice.' It has a surface layer, thinner than a breath on a cold window, which turns this interesting but normal specimen into the distilled essence of WOW!!! Its powerful allure has been evidenced by the fact that the antique label accompanying it was penned by Johann Heinrich Heuland, otherwise known as "John Henry" Heuland - British collector, dealer and namesake for Heulandite - who was born in Bayreuth, Germany in 1778. Since he died in 1856, it is clear that this piece has been in play before then, at a minimum. The specimen was collected in the Iron mines on the Island of Elba, possibly around 1790, where it was plucked from obscurity like an ingénue discovered in a Hollywood drugstore. Whether it was found by a miner or a visiting mineralogist is functionally irrelevant; the piece speaks for itself. It is in stunning and pristine condition for a chunk of lowly Iron ore and comes with a custom acrylic base.
Overall Measurements: 3.59 x 2.96 x 1.83 inches (9.12 x 7.54 x 4.65 cm)
Offered at no reserve.

Provenance: Attard Minerals, ex. Ferguson Collection, ex. J.H. Heuland [Hoppel #D2021]

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