Hemimorphite - rare 1800s find

Item Description

An old-time European classic from the well-known Sa Duchessa Mine in Sardinia, these were the first truly gorgeous blue hemimorphites found and always highly valued in old European collections. Pretty, robins's egg blue, translucent Hemimorphite botryoids completely line the large pocket in the distinctive matrix. The surface of the Hemimorphite is drusy, giving the mineral a beautiful, icy look. Interestingly, the Hemimorphite is underlain by a layer of highly lustous, botryoidal Malachite, which gives this showy and excellent specimen an enhanced aesthetic and even more mineral interest. Historic material, these are very rare and highly valued in Europe and the USA, where they infrequently turn up in old collections. Formerly in the collectioin of Roberto Palumbo of Rome. These pieces are part of a century-old Italian collection that was recently acquired.