Ilvaite circa mid-1800's (Karabacek & Philadelphia Academy Coll.)

Serifos Island, Aegean Islands Dept., Greece
Small Cabinet, 8.8 x 6.4 x 5.8 cm
Start Time: 11/05/2015 6:30:00 pm (CST)
End Time: 11/12/2015 6:30:00 pm (CST)
Auction Closed

Item Description

Serifos Island is famed for quartz "prases" included with green hedenbergite, but has also produced outstanding ilvaite and andradite garnet specimens. This is an impresive, large 360-degree, parallel-growth cluster of moderately lustrous, brown to black ilvaite prisms with striking sharp chisel terminations. The few noted broken crystal tips are certainly only a modest detraction to this scultpural, densely crystallized piece. Classic and excellent old-time material with a fine provenance, having been in the collections of Hans von Karabacek, a prominent Austrian collector (1878-1963) whose high-quality collection numbered 4892 specimens and the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences. valued $1000

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