Liottite (very rare) with Vesuvianite (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

Liottite is a very rare sodium potassium calcium aluminum silicate that is part of the Cancrinite Group. The species is only found in Italy, and this particular piece is from the type locality at Case Collina. This piece features small whitish colored spots of Liottite associated with golden brown colored Vesuvianite crystals. It's a good reference specimen of a very rare species from the type locality. Liottite was named in the 1970s after Luciano Liotti, who was a mineral collector that actually donated the first specimens containing the species. Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#9392). Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Velt" November-December 2017).