SOLD
TUC12-581
Scolecite
Malad, near Mumbai (Bombay), Maharashtra, India
Large Cabinet, 18.0 x 17.5 x 15.0 cm
SOLD
Scolecite, in the form of very bright, glistening crystals shooting out in all directions, is perched atop contrasting salmon-pink stilbite. A SUPERB large combination specimen, with killer aesthetics, and in pristine condition. Although not-expensive' in a relative sense to other top minerals (partly because of a supposed-fragility discount' in that dealers do not wish to travel with it extensively), the piece is nevertheless among top of its species and can hold its own with far fancier mineral specimens - though you get more for your money buying the top of something "common" like this, than you might amongst tourmaline and gold and aquamarines. A pocket such as this came from has not been seen since the early 1980s, and such top grade examples of this species are NOT common at all. As well, they happen to be among the most dramatic specimens in terms of sheer whiz-bang value when shown off in a case, as I can imagine. Indian minerals, because of their sheer quantity of production for the last 20 years, are downgraded in price at the moment under the illusion that great Indian mineral specimens are common. This is not the case, and never has been. Someday, when the flood is over, people will look back on this find, and this specimen, as a modern classic that was simply not valued highly enough it its day due to market confusion amidst a quantity of lesser material. Comparables: There are few examples of this species at this level of condition or quality, and in size. The most famous such examples are a piece in the Houston Museum, and the Gibbs' specimen on display in the Dallas Petroleum Club. Both are from the same famous find of the early 1980s and of slightly different style, and not on such nice pink matrix as the robust stilbites we have here. In the time since then, only a few specimens have merited comparison. This piece was found in 2009, and an example from the same pocket is featured on the cover of Mineralogical Record for the following year (March-April 2010). Joe Budd Photos. NOTE - obviously, this specimen has to be hand delivered and cannot be shipped.