Black Kyanite (ex Bill and Anne Cook Collection)

Item Description

When it comes to Kyanite from Brazil, most people are quite familiar with the blue Kyanites from Barra do Salinas in Brazil, but the specimens from Ribeirao da Folha are much less common on the market. These are notably different in style and color from their Barra do Salinas cousins. This cabinet sized piece is a gorgeous "fan"-like spray filled with dozens of thin, prismatic Kyanite crystals of a dark grey-black hue. To be honest, these crystals really do not resemble Kyanite from any locality, and they remind me more of a species like epidote or an amphibole. Great quality, very little damage and really showy. Hard to find on the market these days. From the collection of William ("Bill") (1927-2006) and Anne (1928-2021) Cook of Cleveland, Ohio. This husband and wife duo were actively involved in the mineral world for many decades. Bill was a PhD geologist, and Anne was a mathematician, and they both were very serious mineral collectors. Bill served for many years as adjunct curator of mineralogy at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the Micromounters' Hall of Fame on October 12, 2019. Both Bill and Anne, at various times, served as president both of the Mineralogical Society of Cleveland and of the Micromineral Society of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the mi The rare barium lithium beryllium phosphate Wilancookite was named in their honor in 2015.