TUC09-SP-01
Calcite on Fluorite
Moscona Mine, Villabona, Asturias, Spain
Cabinet, 13.8 x 13.6 x 6.6 cm
SOLD
From a large private collection of Spanish minerals, a cabinet-sized version of something we normally only see as smaller specimens! A thin veneer of limestone matrix is the host for a plate of glassy and gemmy, yellow-amber, fluorite crystals to 8 mm across. A later generation of lustrous and translucent, ivory colored calcite crystals, to 5 cm in length and of complex combinations of rhombohedral and prismatic habits, has almost completely covered the earlier fluorite. The effect is dramatic, like medusae shooting out. Very nice color and sculptural contrast make this one of the better large examples from this famous locality, and quite distinct in its combination from calcite of other locales. Remarkably, there is almost zero damage, and nothing of any bother worth noting, despite the size and 3-dimensionality of this piece. I am frankly shocked it is in such nice condition.