Quartz var. Smoky, with Amethyst

Item Description

A striking, large, fantastically zoned and skeletal Smoky Quartz crystal from the Brandberg Area in Namibia. This extraordinary piece commands attention FOR A COMBINATION of reasons! It is nearly a full six inches in length and four and a half inches across at its widest. The large crystal dominates the piece and there are a few smaller companion crystals as accent. The robust crystal has great luster and exhibits numerous skeletal forms on many of the faces, especially the pyramidal ones. It is complex but machined-looking, not overly etched looking as some can be. The substantial crystal is sharply formed with sharp edges and broad faces. It is glassy and transparent to translucent with the body showing a smoky exterior and the interior an unusual golden color (from clay inclusions); and the transparent, pointed termination reveals nebulous, amethystine patches at the top. When backlit, it is particularly beautiful and looks for all the world like a manmade piece of art glass with artist-induced nebulae and swirls inside! The skeletal features, smoky color shading variations and clay inclusions, all resulting in what some refer to as "fenster quartz" or hoppered quartz as a common collector term. Complete-all-around, 360, and the visual impact of this piece is just dramatic! This is another core specimens with remarkable provenance. This was in the personal pride and core of Charlie Key's late-in-life collection, which he built in his 80s, of Namibian and South African quartzes. They were side by side cases in his home in Swakopmund, and then sold to Marshall and Charlotte Sussman where they became side by side cases in the famous Sussman collection in Tucson for many years. Eventually, Star van Scriver, working on behalf of Erika Pohl, tempted the Sussmans into selling and these went to Switzerland for the last 14 years or so - thus transiting 3 of the most famous Africa-focused collections of the last 100 years. The piece surely stands on its own, but at the same time, the core pieces from these key collections will be notable, always. They were all collecting legends with discipline, funds, and access, who each tried to build the best Brandberg quartz collection they could in the era the best came out.