Talc pseudomorph after Olivine (RARE!) (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

An incredibly hard to find matrix display specimen from Austria featuring pseudomorphs of soft greenish-yellow Talc replacing preexisting Olivine crystals which measure up to 3.6 cm sitting on "Mountain Leather" (a matted Amphibole species) on matrix. While the main crystal is impressive for its size, there smaller secondary pseudomorph on the top portion of the specimen is much more pronounced and well-formed. It should be noted that the label states this piece is from "Riffelkees, Hohe Tauern, Austria". Now Riffelkees refers to the Riffl glacier locality, which is in the Hohe Tauern area, but there is no mention of Talc or Olivine reported from there. If anybody out there has information as to specifically where this piece was found, please let us know. With that said, the piece is an exceptionally rare pseudomorph of a quality I have never seen, especially with crystals this size. I've seen some micro examples of Talc after Olivine ( https://www.alexstrekeisen.it/english/vulc/pseudomorph.php ), but never in a small cabinet display quality specimen like this. An important and incredibly hard to find piece for any pseudomorph enthusiast or a fan of Austrian Alpine minerals. Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#2094). Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Welt" November-December 2017). Valued at $1,500 for its rarity, size and quality.