Thenardite (Belsky Coll.) - superb cluster

Item Description

Thenardite is a relatively uncommon orthorhombic sodium sulfate ususally found in lakes and playas in arid regions. This is a very sculptural, intergrown cluster of sharp, very glassy, transparent, crystals with clay inclusions from the famous Soda Lake deposit in California. The largest crystal is 3.2 cm. These crystals have exceptional gemminess for the species and locale. Very nearly pristine for such dense coverage of a soft mineral, with only a very trivial bit of edgewear. Choice material for the species and locale. Ex Howard Belsky Collection. Howard started as a mineral dealer at age 13 in 1972, became a sophisticated dealer and died tragically at age 28 in 1987. His collection recently became available to us through his family. This is one of the best examples we have seen of the species, and so rarely seen in a cluster. valued $750