Phosgenite w/ Cerussite (classic locale)

Item Description

A surreal, sculptural two-sided phosgenite and cerussite combination miniature from the famous and closed Monteponi Mine on Sardinia. Fantastically etched columnar gemmy phosgenite with striking adamantine lustre is aesthetically accented on one side with two well-placed lustrous, translucent, stepped-growth cerussite crystals. The large crystal is 2.0 cm wide. The world's finest examples of Phosgenite, Pb-carbonate with a Halide, easily come from this famous locale. The piece displays well from either direction and the top is also dramatic. Mining probably started in the area in the fifth and sixth centuries B.C for argentiferous galena and later zinc ores became important. The Monteponi Mine closed in 1997. See the excellent article in the 2014 Mineralogical Record, Vol. 45, No. 6. Phosgenite and cerussite combinations of this artistic quality are very uncommon from here and this is an exceptional classic example.