Siderite pseudomorph after Calcite

Item Description

A really attractive pseudomorph from Dalnegorsk featuring sparkling dark brown micro Siderite which has completely replaced a group of trigonal Calcite crystals, that formed in a semi-"rose"-shaped aggregate, free of matrix. The original form of the Calcites is very easy to see, as the compressed, stacked rhombs still retain their original form, even after a fairly thick/heavy replacement by the Siderite. You can see there is a bit of a hollow quality on the back of the piece, showing that the Calcite apparently was completely dissolved away, leaving partial "casts" in spots. These are rare from this mine and date back to the 1990s, so if you have a comprehensive worldwide pseudomorph collection or a suite of minerals from Dalnegorsk, this is a great opportunity to pick up something that is rarely offered for sale these days, in a fine quality display piece.
From the collection of Kurt Hefendehl (#544 Ru), a well-known German collector all over Europe with worldwide contacts to dealers and collectors. He started collecting seriously at the age of 14 and his great and varied worldwide collection reached over 6000 pieces. He was very active mineralogically until shortly before his passing in 2020 at the age of 82. Considering his collection had a large number of pieces, it still had an unusually high standard of quality from most worldwide localities. He particularly specialized in all classics as well as minerals of the Black Forest, where he spent much time collecting. His Black Forest and German subcollections went to his good friend Wolfgang Wendel. We at The Arkenstone have the privilege of offering the remainder of this great worldwide collection through our various platforms.