Baryte (fluorescent)

Item Description

An old German Baryte specimen that turned up in an 1800s-era museum collection here in America: Nicely formed with Baryte crystals splayed in all directions, this small cabinet cluster is from the venerable Marienberg Mining District, where silver mining extends back over 400 years. The largest Baryte is 1.8 cm tall, and it stands above the rest like a watchtower. All the crystals are lustrous, gemmy-to-translucent, and each has a sharp, reddish phantom reflecting earlier growth. The centuries have produced some wear on the crystals, not unexpected as soft and old as this piece is, but the aesthetics remain good for this uncommon Marienberg species. The Barytes even have a soft fluorescence to them. Provenance takes this piece from dealer F.H. Hoseus to the collections of John M. Hartman to the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences to Chris Stefano.