RHQTZ-44
Amethyst
Zillerthal, Tyrol, Austria
Small Cabinet, 8.5 x 4.3 x 3.4 cm
Ex. Smithsonian Institution; Richard Hauck; Clarence Bement
SOLD
This specimen is a lustrous, bright, pleasing color and is doubly-terminated with multiply-terraced faces extending out on each tip. It is complete on the display face but for one minor tip, and has contact on the left edge and backside, but presents as a complete floater from the front view. Note an inked black arrow on the back of this specimen was made by the early-1900s AMNH curator Gratacap in curating the display specimens from the Bement collection after it was donated to the AMNH by financier JP Morgan, who purchased the collection after Bement's death. The arrow denotes the rear direction on the shelf on which the specimen was to be placed, thus showing its proper orientation on the display shelves of the museum. As the MinRecord archive states, Clarence Sweet Bement was one of the greatest American mineral collectors of all time, from around 1866 to 1900, known for his high level of taste in specimens - even in the oddities such as this! Click on this link to see a copy of the original early 1900s accession book from the American Museum archives: CLICK HERE