Cerussite 'Black Lead'

Item Description

This item is part of a special benefit auction for the Rice Museum of Rocks & Minerals (ricenorthwestmuseum.org). Items are either deaccessions from the museum's collection or were donated by generous supporters listed below.

Auction open April 1, 2021 through April 17, 2021.

Billing for this auction will occur on Monday, April 19, for payment using PayPal or credit card. Shipping will be billed at cost, or please contact brandy@mineralauctions.com if you'd like to plan on picking up items at future shows or during a stop through Dallas.

It is very hard to find complete "sixlings" of Cerussite from the Tsumeb Mine and six twin components are evident on this piece! Five of the reticulated twin components are well developed with the sixth less so. To add to the interest and intrigue of the piece, the Cerussite is essentially black and opaque exhibiting great luster, a Cerussite variety known for its dark gray to black color as Schwartzbleierz by the old German miners and collectors. The individual crystals are very sharply formed with excellent terminations and barely discernible contacting at the base where the sixth component is not as well developed. Tiny, less than 0.5 mm spheres of bright green Malachite are sprinkled around the base of the piece. Cerussite sixlings are very uncommon from Tsumeb and these black ones are ultra rare old classics, and it probably dates to the early 1900s.