Pyroxene (found 1813) (ex Brian Lloyd Specimen)

Item Description

A wonderful 200+ year old specimen of a Pyroxene species (most likely Diopside or Augite) from the famous Traversella Mine in the Piedmont of Italy. Small, distinct, greenish colored crystals sit on massive Pyroxene matrix. The old hand-written label attached to the base of the piece notes that it was mined in 1813! The piece comes from Brian Lloyd of London, one of the preeminent European mineral dealers. Among other accomplishments, Brian was responsible for bringing the Sir Robert Ferguson collection to market, along with the Joseph Neeld collection (1789-1856) in 1974 and the historic gold collection of H.S. Gordon. Brian famously purchased the historic dealership formerly known as J.R. Gregory & Company - today known as Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd. The catalogue number on this specimen is 2710.