Superb Vanadinite on Barite

Item Description

Gemmy and lustrous, fire engine-red, vanadinite prisms are richly strewn across the crest of this superb and aesthetic combination specimen from Mibladen. The tabular, sharply hexagonal, vannies reach 8 mm and have gorgeous flashes of gemmy, yellow-orange fire. The super-sculptural matrix of frosted barite blades is further enhanced by the preferentially coating of black, manganese oxides. A secondary, preferential overgrowth of snow-white barite on some of the vanadinites adds even more character! All of the many vanadinites are pristine and there are only a couple of broken barite blades. This is undoubtably one of the very finest vanadinite-barite combination pieces we have offered at auction and is definitely of the quality to be included in the Gallery. The crystals are wonderfully discrete on this striking piece. Valued at $1500 and worth it. The sharp red on black contrast is rarely seen compared to more common white barite or massive barite matrix and MAKES the piece. A similar cabinet sized example, scaled up but no different in aesthetics, recently sold for over $100,000. Just to show there is an appreciation for the rarity of the style.