Vanadinite on Baryte

Item Description

The most treasured Vanadinite specimens from Mibladen are those featuring gemmy, lustrous, "COKE CAN RED" Vanadinite crystals on white Baryte such as this large plate from the Dr. Erika Pohl-Stroher collection. While vanadinite material has come out sporadically, the most famous of these, with the best and most shocking color contrast (without the brown or dark stains seen on other pockets), came out only a few times in the late 1980s and again in the early 2000s (a smaller find). This is the older material, at a size and in a condition that is, frankly, unheard of. It should not exist outside of museums - but the Pohl collection was indeed like a museum. This is just a stunning large cabinet piece with dozens of bright red Vanadinite crystals sprinkled all over a large plate containing of creamy snow-white Baryte clusters. This is just a striking piece with dozens upon dozens of translucent, rich red platy, hexagonal Vanadinite crystals clustered in groups of large and small crystals. The large groups are in three-dimensional arrays with crystals from 0.5 to 1.3 cm across and may of these larger crystal groups are preferentially perched on fanned, 1.5 to 2.5 cm clusters of white to pale pinkish Baryte. The smaller clusters are comprised of little, gemmy crystals from 2 to 5 mm in size and are scattered about the matrix, rarely on Baryte. There are some smaller, isolated crystals scattered on matrix too. All of the bright red Vanadinite crystals contrast well with the snow-white, discontinuous druse of Calcite that covers much of the flesh colored matrix. An exceptional large cabinet piece that we rarely see today and there essentially no damage on the piece, even around the periphery! While vanadinite is common, admittedly, we cannot emphasize enough the rarity of a piece like this of such contrast, size, perfection, and aesthetics all in one large specimen. We have simply not seen comparable for sale in decades. Values over $25000 were readily quoted when people saw this in our preview display in Tucson.