Beudantite

Item Description

Rarely found in large sized specimens, this is a high-quality small cabinet sized specimen of the uncommon lead iron arsenate Beudantite, named for François Beudant (1787-1850), a French mineralogist at the University of Paris. Found as a secondary mineral in metallic deposits worldwide, it displays diverse crystal habits and colors. In particular, the crystals from Tsumeb are typically brown to dark golden-brown, and often microscopic in size. However, this exceptional small-cabinet piece breaks that mold with crystals in highly-visible clusters 4-7 mm across, and they richly populate the drusy matrix. The individual crystals are sharp, well-formed, and highly lustrous, like rosettes. Being so lustrous, they look like pieces of candy. It is unusual to have bigger-than-microcrystalline crystals, rich coverage, and such good aesthetics as they are isolated on the matrix and overall it is actually beautiful. For what it is, this piece is eye candy, indeed. Valued $3500-5000.