Agate (polished)

Item Description

A beautiful example of the old classic Agates from Sankt Egidien in Saxony, Germany which date back 100+ years. These specimens are found as geodes, cracked open and polished to show off their beautiful patterns and colors within. Germany has a special history with Agate, as the renowned gem district in Idar-Oberstein started out cutting and polishing Agates at least 500 years ago (certain reports talk about Agates in the area when it was under Roman rule) which led eventually from cutting and polishing to world-class carving and gemstone art. This piece is a wonderful representation of these classic Agates featuring a central "core" of crystalline Quartz, which is surrounded by a vivid red band of Agate, that transitions into a slightly transparent band and eventually grades into the host rock. From the collection of Kurt Hefendehl (#58 D), a well-known German collector all over Europe with worldwide contacts to dealers and collectors. He started collecting seriously at the age of 14 and his great and varied worldwide collection reached over 6000 pieces. He was very active mineralogically until shortly before his passing in 2020 at the age of 82. Considering his collection had a large number of pieces, it still had an unusually high standard of quality from most worldwide localities. He particularly specialized in all classics as well as minerals of the Black Forest, where he spent much time collecting. His Black Forest and German subcollections went to his good friend Wolfgang Wendel. We at The Arkenstone have the privilege of offering the remainder of this great worldwide collection over the next two to three years through our various platforms.