MTN23-18
Cuprite with Malachite
Mashamba West Mine, Mutshatsha, Lualaba, DR Congo
Thumbnail, 2.7 x 2.6 x 1.8 cm
Ex. Shields and Frances Flynn
SOLD

While this mine is famous for cuprite, and it has come in plenty over the decades, quality like this is seldom seen. Here we have the ideal combination of lustrous faces, shiny metallic color, a balanced aesthetic on matrix, and a glowing cherry-red color. Specimens from here are nearly always lacking in one or another of those qualities. This is a competition level thumbnail from the competitive TN collection of Shields Flynn, and it is an old piece from the 1980s era. The fanspray of malachite is a welcome and unusual accent! Please note that the malachite is repaired, cleanly, and invisibly, with one drop of glue (it came off in handling here). The crystal is stunning, 1.2 cm on edge, and is perfection.