Babingtonite with Pumpeyllite-(Fe2+) (ex Francesco Bedogne Collection)

Item Description

A fine and rarely seen example of Babingtonite (erroneously labeled as Ilvaite originally) from the Nasik Quarry in India. This locality is not known for producing many Babingtonites, and this piece is a great example compared to the few I've seen. The front side of the piece is peppered with very sharp, well-formed, textbook, jet black color triclinic crystals of Babingtonite measuring up to 4 mm which are sitting on drusy Quartz on matrix. The underside of the piece shows radial aggregates of dark greenish-black Pumpellyite-(Fe2+) although the species has not been reported from Nasik that I can find. Minor Calcite can be seen with the Pumpellites as well. A great association piece that really looks beautiful under magnficiation. From the worldwide collection of famed Italian mineral collector, field collector and author, Francesco Bedogne of Sondrio, Italy (Collection #1403). Bedogne wrote dozens of articles and several books about the mineralogy of Italian Alpine localities such as Val Bregaglia, Val Masino, Val Codera, Val Spluga, Valtellina and the famous Val Malenco. He was also the founder of the Valtellinese Mineralogical Institute.