Hematite (old material) (ex Ferguson)

Item Description

A classic, old-time Hematite specimen from this ancient iron mining district about 30 miles west of the German border in Alsace. The piece has the color of "kidney ore" with a somewhat "rusty" metallic appearance, but it interestingly looks like a core section with a smooth exterior and a central "tube" running through the middle. It's strange to be sure, and I've never quite seen anything like it. This piece dates to the collection of Sir Robert Ferguson (1769-1840). He was a member of Parliament and the landed nobility from Fife, Scotland (he had stopped collecting by 1810). This piece came to us in 1998 from a single drawer of pieces recovered in the Ferguson family estate, specimen #354.