Calcite (fine scepter crystals)

Item Description

A fantastic and highly aesthetic, three-dimensional cabinet sized specimen featuring a group of sharp, well-formed, gemmy, virtually colorless trigonal crystals of Calcite that form the upper portion of "spire"-like scepter habit Calcite crystals that show a slightly more golden hue, from the famed Wenshan Mine in China. The Calcites formed as stalactitic growths, but unlike ordinary "cave calcite" specimens, this piece culminated with two EXCELLENT terminations, rarely seen in this particular style of this diverse mineral species. No damage that I can find, and it's so showy from multiple angles. If you look on the side of the piece, you'll see some tiny "sugary" overgrowths of a second generation of Calcite for a nice touch. This is an older specimen from the early 2000s, and these are now RARE on the market. Valued $4,000 for size, quality and relatively obscurity nowadays. Ex Dr. Stephen Smale Collection. Along with amassing one of the finest private mineral collections in the world, Steve is a renowned mathematician. His accomplishments include being awarded the Fields Medal in 1966 along with being the awarded the Wolf Prize in mathematics in 2007. You can read Steve's bio on the Mineralogical Record website ( https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/smalestephen/ ) or on Wikipedia