Goethite ps. Marcasite

Item Description

Most of the unique looking pseudomorphs of goethite after marcasite from the remote White Desert of Egypt have a stellate, arborescent or stalactitc form. This striking, nubby, lustrous burnished brown sculptural specimen resembles a bird in flight with a large head and pointed beak. Complete all-around and nearly pristine, the "tail" and each side is contacted. These were originally formed as marcasite or pyrite crystals on the sea bottom and were then pseudomorphed, retaining their fantastic form. They were dug in the remote western desert of southwest Egypt by Parisian dealer Alain Carion and his son in the mid-1990s. No more have been found. Ex Robert Whitmore Collection. A surreal two-sided biomorphic piece!