TUC12-675
Sulfur
Cozzodisi Mine, Agrigento Province, Sicily, Italy
Cabinet, 15.0 x 12.5 x 5.3 cm
SOLD
This is a major cabinet specimen worthy of any fine collection, and quite a level above the usual sort of sulfur you see (of which even small ones of superb color are now going for five figures). A stunning specimen from an old collection, this piece is two-faced. One side shows an incredible, almost unique, metallic-lustrous sulfur crystallization that forms an interlinked display face of bright crystals. The color is INTENSE and as saturated as I have ever seen in sulfur, but it is the LUSTER that makes this side special, and dramatic. I have seldom seen luster like this, and only on a few smaller specimens (as well as one illustrated in a recent issue of the Mineralogical Record, of similar habit but smaller size). The other side is more traditional, with larger, fat and 3-dimensional, golf ball-like crystals growing out from a mass of smaller crystals. It is beautiful as well, though entirely different in style from the other side of the piece. The entire specimen is a floater, complete all around. It has almost no damage (a few very minor rubs you have to look to find, only), remarkable given its size. This piece was in an old collection in Italy for decades, and is the only such example I have seen on the market for this style, in good condition. As good as the photos are, the piece is simply glowing with color in person and so saturated in color, that it is hard to believe it is real. It is THAT good. Joe Budd Photos.