Dolomite pseudomorph after Azurite (excellent)

Item Description

A fantastic full cabinet sized display specimen of the rare and desirable pseudomorphs of Dolomite after Azurite from what most people consider to be the world's greatest mineral locality. This piece features a pair of diverging, prismatic hollow "casts" / pseudomorphs of pearly pinkish-brown Dolomite that have replaced preexisting crystals of Azurite. You can see that the interior is completely hollow, but the smaller of the two pseudomorphs still retains the form of the termination of the now dissolved Azurite crystal. These are incredibly hard to find on the market, and some of the coolest and rarest replacement specimens from the Tsumeb, and this particular piece is notably fine for both its size and quality. Valued around $2,500-$3,000. From the collection of William ("Bill") (1927-2006) and Anne (1928-2021) Cook of Cleveland, Ohio (#11775) (with an accompanying label stating the piece was originally in the collection of the great mineral dealer and collector, Ed Swoboda). 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.