D16B-95
Smithsonite (multiple generations)
Kelly Mine, Magdalena, Socorro County, New Mexico, USA
Small Cabinet, 7.8 x 6.3 x 3.6 cm
SOLD
This Kelly Mine specimen has two generations of smithsonite, an earlier rich teal blue and a later "seafoam" aquamarine color. The contrast of color and geometry is simply unique in my experience in this size range and magnitude. It is a shocking piece, visually, and looks like no other "Kelly" I have seen. The specimen is lustrous and highly translucent (it glows an ethereal blue, in several tones, when backlit well). The overall form of the specimen is visually interesting and balanced by the layered growths here, whereas usually these botryoidal Kelly smithsonites are simply ungeometric rounded masses. All in all, one of the most remarkable and eyecatching examples I have seen in this size and price range, over many years.