Quartz (Herkimer style) on Baryte

Item Description

An imposing, stout, pristine, 6.3 cm, partially doubly terminated "Herkimer style" quartz crystal is jauntily set on the parallel-growth cluster of bone-white baryte blades. The tabular, hexagonal crystal has a razor sharp chisel termination above the interestingly offset termination faces. The crystal is transparent to translucent with both satin luster and water-clear prism and termination faces. The prism faces are nicely accented with stepped-growth and the smaller quartz crystals at the base of the large quartz are a fine complement and accessory. This is a large crystal from the famed deposits at La Cabana at Berbes, as the average size is 1 to 3 cm. See the excellent article in the recent 2024 Mineralogical Record article in Vol. 55, No. 1. Ex Kurt Hefendehl Collection, a well-known German collector who amassed a world-wide collection of over 6000 pieces. La Cabana is famed for excellent "Herkimer style" quartz crystals and exceptional fluorite specimens and this is an outstanding quartz and baryte combination with a large crystal.