Proustite Marienberg, Marienberg District, Erzgebirge, Saxony, Germany "A...
Proustite Marienberg, Marienberg District, Erzgebirge, Saxony, Germany "A cluster of proustite crystals up to about an inch. Traded this specimen from the George Vaux collection when Harold Arndt was curator there years ago. When I got the specimen it had a base of arsenic? which disintegrated." - Rock H. Currier Bit of a puzzle, this one. As Currier noted, it appeared to have a matrix of Native Arsenic, which disintegrated. When such things disintegrate, they often chemically destroy materials such as paper labels lying underneath them. Associated with this specimen are portions of a matching label. The fragments show chemical damage exactly commensurate with the mentioned breakdown. Luckily the fragments were able to confirm the locality as being from the classic Marienberg district of Germany, with another important notation that indicated that Vaux obtained the specimen from Clarence Bement. The Proustite is no longer held together by Arsenic, which is why it had to be cleaned and reinforced to make up for the lack of the Arsenic matrix. No longer suitable for poisoning: rivals/heirs/ants/et cetera. There is a custom acrylic base and the remnants of the Vaux label. Overall Measurements: 2.4 x 2.0 x 1.2 inches (6.0 x 5.0 x 3.0 cm) Provenance: Ex. Bryn Mawr College, Ex. George Vaux, Ex. Clarence Bement Collections [RHC #1871, acquired 1974] MinID 0CG-HC0 [Scale: 1 inch, with mark at 1 cm]
HID09710052018
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Proustite Marienberg, Marienberg District, Erzgebirge, Saxony, Germany "A cluster of proustite crystals up to about an inch. Traded this specimen from the George Vaux collection when Harold Arndt was curator there years ago. When I got the specimen it had a base of arsenic? which disintegrated." - Rock H. Currier Bit of a puzzle, this one. As Currier noted, it appeared to have a matrix of Native Arsenic, which disintegrated. When such things disintegrate, they often chemically destroy materials such as paper labels lying underneath them. Associated with this specimen are portions of a matching label. The fragments show chemical damage exactly commensurate with the mentioned breakdown. Luckily the fragments were able to confirm the locality as being from the classic Marienberg district of Germany, with another important notation that indicated that Vaux obtained the specimen from Clarence Bement. The Proustite is no longer held together by Arsenic, which is why it had to be cleaned and reinforced to make up for the lack of the Arsenic matrix. No longer suitable for poisoning: rivals/heirs/ants/et cetera. There is a custom acrylic base and the remnants of the Vaux label. Overall Measurements: 2.4 x 2.0 x 1.2 inches (6.0 x 5.0 x 3.0 cm) Provenance: Ex. Bryn Mawr College, Ex. George Vaux, Ex. Clarence Bement Collections [RHC #1871, acquired 1974] MinID 0CG-HC0 [Scale: 1 inch, with mark at 1 cm]
HID09710052018
© 2019 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
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