Azurite (found 1929)

Item Description

A classic and very old style of Tsumeb Azurite showing very little replacement by Malachite. This handsome Azurite piece consists of several midnight-blue, bladed crystals in parallel growth with the largest at 4.5 cm. One of the smaller, adjacent components shows a "serrated" edge on side that adds interest an aesthetics. The Azurites are very lustrous with barely discernible striations parallel to their length. There are only a few, small, 2 to 4 mm smudges of bright green Malachite present as incipient alteration of the Azurite. There are a few patches of yellow-tan material between the Azurite crystals in places that have bright bluish-green microcrystals we are assuming could be Rosasite. This is a flashy and attractive Tsumeb Azurite miniature! This has a note with it, in Erika Pohl's hand, saying it came from the collection of Kegel - Friedrich Wilhelm Kegel (1874–1948), director of the mining operations at Tsumeb mine from 1924 to 1933 and a very well known collector himself.