Galena and Calcite (Halpern Coll.)

Item Description

A truly graceful and elegant galena crystal, showing mesmerizing surface detail. The growth pattern here is called "hoppered" and is somewhat unusual in nature in general, although happens more commonly in certain species like galena or pyromorphite, vanadinite , and other lead minerals. The effect can be messy, or beautiful, depending on the extent of patterning - and here, it is definitely beautiful. This fine small cabinet sized crystal is an exquisite single complex crystal, that looks sculpted. For the size, it is very aesthetic and well balanced, extremely 3-dimensional. The calcites add a welcome accent of shape and color, and also by the way prove this to be the natural shape and color (unwashed or cleaned with acid). This would have been a contemporary classic in the 1980s or 1990s, and such crystals are rarely seen today. This is from the large and well known collection of San Francisco collector, Jack Halpern, #3439!