"Larvikite" (ex David Burgess Collection)

Item Description

Larvikite is the name given to a coarse-grained ("plutonic") crystalline igneous rock, either an Augite syenite or an Augite monzonite. The material is named after the town of Larvik, Norway, where it was first found. The material was once called "blue granite", but you'll only see this term in old mineralogy / geology books. At one time, Larvikite may have been considered a valid mineral species, but it is now defined as a rock type. This piece is a wonderful example of the material featuring coarse grained grey colored feldspar (which show a beautiful blue iridescent "moonstone"-esque shiller / reflection) along with black portions of titanian Augite and blades of shimmering nearly black, Lepidomelane mica. The piece is sliced and polised on one face to show the beautiful coarse-grained texture of the material. A really interesting old-time specimen of this seldom seen rock from Norway. From the worldwide collection of David Burgess (1951-2016). David was a prolific species collector from Newington, Connecticut, and the namesake for the extremely rare cobalt arsenate species Burgessite, which he discovered. David's label accompanying the piece states that it is from "Norway (probaby Oslo)".