Plumbogummite on Pyromorphite

Item Description

This attractive, cabinet-sized plate contains hundreds of teal-colored Plumbogummite botryoids (rounded growths) from a well-known and surprising find a few years ago at the Yangshuo Mine in China, quite near to the famous and long-lasting green pyromorphite mines at Daoping. (Interestingly, this is only a few hours from our gallery in Southern China in Guilin, and is a famous Chinese nature tourism spot that Chinese President Xi Jinping recently visited). Crystals of plumbogummite to several inches were found, although they were pseudomorphs replacing earlier green pyromorphite, and sometimes coexisting together. That material was rather chalky in appearance and had essentially zero luster to it. This discovery is entirely different, although the same mining complex, and came out later circa 2010-2015 in this style, and it features rich thick carpets of more translucent and lustrous plumbogummite, atop but not replacing the pyro. This discovery yielded the largest, richest, most beautiful examples ever seen of the rare lead-containing species, which was formerly only known from a few old discoveries in England and as mere smudges from elsewhere. The luster on these translucent botryoids ranges from silky to nearly glassy (this style is a candidate for best of species in this regard), and many appear to have overgrown Pyromorphite. Interestingly, the Pyromorphite ranges from a grey-green to vivid yellow, which is consistent with other pieces from the mine from previous discoveries although this Plumbogummite is just so much better than most! For the size range, this quality is remarkable, as few specimens at 4 inches and bigger had quality without damage, due to tight pockets and difficult mining conditions. The Yangshuo Mine is on the other side of the mountains from the Daoping Mine, and both are famous in their own right for their lead mines and minerals. Between them is a rolling river with gorgeous green mountains, you've seen in movies and on TV. This is an aesthetic, high-quality piece for Yangshuo because of the rarity of the luster and uniform color amidst so many others that are missing one or both of those qualities. For the size, it is about as good as it gets. For the species in terms of color and luster, also about as good as it gets. Valued $4000-5000, this came out of the collection of a Chinese dealer who had kept it for some time.