T73 Mimetite pseudomorph after Cerussite - $3400 (SOLD)
Tsumeb, Namibia
ex. Sussman Collection
Small Cabinet, 7 x 5 x 4.5 cm


No damage and complete all around! These are known to be very old specimens, and good ones are scarce. This piece is reputedly one of the best of the type, consisting of a cluster of fine, 3-dimensional crystals! The cerussite has been replaced by mimetite, and secondary crystalline mimetite has formed over the outside of the crystals as well. The piece has a fairly bright, uniform yellow color to it which is exceptionally attractive. Minor green bayldonite in association. This piece is certainly one of the best Tsumeb pseudos of any type, that I have seen. It came from a collection dispersed by Western Minerals in 1990.




T69 Malachite pseudomorph after Azurite - $600
Tsumeb, Namibia
ex. Pacific Mineral Museum - Seattle
Small Cabinet, 6.5 x 4.5 x 1.5 cm


No damage and complete all around! This velvety malachite faithfully preserves the form of what must have been a smoker of a doubly-terminated azurite crystal, perched on just a tiny amount of matrix at the midpoint of its base. Pristine and complete, save for some matrix contact which stilla dheres to the narrowest rear top face.




T52 Rosasite pseudomorph Malachite pseudo. Azurite - $2400 (SOLD)
Tsumeb, Namibia
Miniature, 6 x 5 x 3.5 cm

A stunning example of this rare double-pseudomorph, that at its best occurs only from Tsumeb. The malachite replaced a previous generation of azurite and then was replaced itself by rosasite. Such specimens are usually a pale blue, but this piece has a much darker blue hue to it than you normally see, and the crystals are of large size (for some reason, its usually smaller crystals that make the change?!). An attractive miniature because the crystals are perched on contrasting (massive) malachite matrix.




T81 Smithsonite pseudomorph after Wulfenite - $800 (SOLD)
Tsumeb, Namibia
ex. Credo Schwab, Sussman Collections
Miniature, 6 x 3.5 x 2.5 cm


A most unusual specimen (in fact, I have not seen another,) consisting of smithsonite that has completely replaced relatively large and thick crystals of wulfenite! The white druse you see mixed with the smithsonite are acicular crystals of microcrystalline willemite that were later deposited atop the smithsonite. Purchased directly from the Zweibels by one of their major Tsumeb customers, Credo Schwab, who sold his collection to the Sussmans in 2001.




T82 Arsentsumebite pseudomorph after Mimetite - $1600 (SOLD)
Tsumeb, Namibia
1st Oxidation Zone circa early 1900's
Small Cabinet, 7 x 4 x 4 cm
CLICK HERE FOR LARGER IMAGE:


A rare specimen showcasing Arsentsumebite, which has completely replaced elongated mimetite crystals! This old specimen surfaced at Tucson, from a collection specializing in minerals of the first levels at Tsumeb which dates back to the late 1890s and early 1900s.




T83 TSUMCORITE pseudomorph after Mimetite - $875 (SOLD)
Tsumeb, Namibia
1st Oxidation Zone circa early 1900's
Miniature, 4 x 4 x 3 cm


A rare specimen showcasing TSUMCORITE , which has completely replaced elongated mimetite crystals! This old specimen surfaced at Tucson, from a collection specializing in minerals of the first levels at Tsumeb which dates back to the late 1890s and early 1900s. TSUMCORITE replacement is highly unusual!




T84 TSUMCORITE pseudomorph after Mimetite - $400
Tsumeb, Namibia
1st Oxidation Zone circa early 1900's
Small Miniature/Large Thumbnail, 3 x 2.5 x 1.5 cm

A rare specimen showcasing TSUMCORITE , which has completely replaced elongated mimetite crystals! This old specimen surfaced at Tucson, from a collection specializing in minerals of the first levels at Tsumeb which dates back to the late 1890s and early 1900s. NOTE: the color on the smaller piece is identical in person to the color of the miniature, above. I dont know why it keeps coming out so green when i take my closeups...but the true color is, again, as shown for the specimen above. TSUMCORITE replacement is highly unusual!




T85 Bayldonite pseudomorphing Mimetite - $1500 (SOLD)
Tsumeb, Namibia
1st Oxidation Zone circa early 1900's
Miniature, 5 x 5 x 3.5 cm


Classic but seldom seen material; this is a specimen of large mimetite crystals in the process of being coated and replaced by the rare mineral bayldonite. Replacements of smaller mimetite crystals are rare enough, but few specimens of this type are seen and all date to the early mining at Tsumeb. This is a large and showy specimen with great grass-green color. Although basically complete all around (back shown in bottom-right photo), there is minor damage that, given the age and rarity of such pieces and the relative beauty and aesthetics of this one, does not detract to my mind. This is one of two pieces from a collection assembled in the Northwest by a collector who purchased many pieces from dealer Prosper Williams, who himself obtained many pieces from the Smithsonian. The white patch on the side of the larger crystal is, I think, the remnants of a museum label.



 
The Arkenstone - Dr. Robert Lavinsky
PO Box 450788
Garland, TX 75045-0788
Phone 972-414-9003 "normal hours" Central Time Zone, E-Fax 413-581-0589

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