Chabazite (var: Phacolite) (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

This piece came labeled as coming from a place called Killyflugh, which is an actual town in Northern Ireland, but I can't find a listing of any minerals found there. With that said, there are several localities in Co., Antrim where this material is found, so it's certainly legitimate. Sharp, well-formed, lustrous, compressed "Phacolite" twins of Chabazite with a slightly smoky color are seen covering the display side of this attractive old time piece. The label accompanying the specimen states that this piece came from the famous Ashcroft collection of British Museum, but no label is present. Also, the label states that there were originally 2 pieces, but one was sold (perhaps with the original Ashcroft label). Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#2801). Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Welt" November-December 2017).