Smithsonite on Wulfenite ex Kidwell

Item Description

Here we have a really good and rare example of Smithsonite on Wulfenite from the famed Tsumeb Mine in Namibia. Big, up to 3.7 cm, crystals of dove-gray Wulfenite displaying numerous phantoms are covered by glistening, 1 to 2 mm, rhombs of colorless to grayish Smithsonite for great effect. The Wulfenite forms on the front side of the piece are perfectly preserved by the tiny Smithsonite crystals resulting in a nice geometric array from the platy, bipyramidal crystals underneath. On the backside of the piece, the preferential coating of the Smithsonite on the Wulfenite is revealed and the big Wulfenite divulges its true intrigue with the numerous, alternating light to dark gray phantoms at its interior. It is almost complete, with only a ding on one side. This is a really unusual piece for Tsumeb and it's in excellent condition. From the diverse and historic collection of one of the great field collectors and mineralogists of mid-1900s Texas, Albert Kidwell of Houston (1919-2008), after whom the mineral Kidwellite is named.