Quartz (var: "Sternquarz" / Star Quartz) (ex Al Kidwell Collection)

Item Description

An attractive specimen of what it called "Sternquarz" in Germany (= Star Quartz), which refers to a specific growth habit where the Quartz crystals radiating from a central point in a star-like "burst". This piece is from the Johannes Mine at Göpfersgrün in Bavaria, Germany, which was a source of a wide variety of different styles and varieties of Quartz years ago. The Quartz group on this piece almost has what I would call a "bow tie" shape where it's tapered in the center and radiates out in opposing directions. The underside of the specimen features a partial "cast" or possibly a pseudomorph of Talc (var: Steatite) replacing an unknown mineral (possibly Dolomite?). Please note that there is a good sized contact on one end of the Quartz group, so it's not damage-free, but it's still a very attractive and certainly interesting / unusual example from this distinctive German locale. From the worldwide mineral collection of Albert Lewis Kidwell (January 1, 1919 - August 16, 2008). Al was a well-known mineral collector and research geologist with Carter Oil Company and later Exxon Oil Company in Houston, Texas. The phosphate species Kidwellite was named in his honor in 1974.