(primary) Malachite with Calcite

Item Description

This item is part of a special benefit auction for the Rice Museum of Rocks & Minerals (ricenorthwestmuseum.org). Items are either deaccessions from the museum's collection or were donated by generous supporters listed below.

Auction open April 1, 2021 through April 17, 2021.

Billing for this auction will occur on Monday, April 19, for payment using PayPal or credit card. Shipping will be billed at cost, or please contact brandy@mineralauctions.com if you'd like to plan on picking up items at future shows or during a stop through Dallas.

What a beautiful, multicolored Tsumeb specimen comprised of fans of bright emerald green primary Malachite sprinkled with bright white Calcite all on a brick-red and purple-blue, hematite stained and Cuprite veined matrix for great aesthetic effect! Multitudes of flattened, interlocking fans of sharply terminated Malachite cover the display surface and display vibrant green internal reflections. Individual Malachite crystal sprays are up to 1 cm across. The Malachite is in turn adorned by translucent to opaque white, stubby, scalenohedral Calcite crystals as singles or as clusters (with some strange etching or resorption effects) resulting in odd shapes, especially when viewed with a loupe or under the microscope. The matrix is interesting as well given the angular texture of the red-stained matrix, veined by massive Cuprite! This unique piece is in excellent condition with only minor bruising of the Malachite and then some contacting around the periphery. A lovely and contrasting Tsumeb piece of so-called primary malachite as opposed to the more common (secondary) malachite that replaces azurite crystals, more often found here.