Celestine scepter (rare, 1800's) ex Roebling, Smithsonian & Robertson

Item Description

Mineral specimens are rare from this long extinct extinct 1800s celestine quarry, now beneath a shopping centre (MINDAT). This is a TRULY RARE, aesthetic, translucent, glassy, colorless sceptered celestine crystal with an iron oxide coating. Complete all-around and pristine. This exceptional old-time piece has an outstanding provenance. The piece was originally in the Washington Roebling Collection, one of the world's greatest mineral collectors. Read his biography in the Mineralogical Record Biographical Archive: http://www.minrec.org/labels.asp?colid=614. His low R404 number on the back indicates he probably acquired this piece in the 1870s or 1880s. His collection was donated to the Smithsonian Musuem following his death in 1926. Ex Kay Robertson Collection # 6531 and acquired from California dealer Bill Schneider in 1971. Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record).