Detailed information
Species
Witherite
Dimensions
80 x 89 x 45
mm
Weight
421 g
Locality
Fallowfield Mine, Acomb Hexham, Tyne Valley Northumberland, England
Condition
No recorded repairs
The famed pyramidal Witherite crystals seen from Fallowfield mine are usually seen as individual crystals, often bipyramidal, but sometimes in small clusters, but beds of multiple crystals growing together outwards in a somewhat nodular, or star-burst form, are less often encountered. This lovely example features almost parallel alligned greyish-white pyramidal Witherite crystals reaching up to 2.7 cm in length in a hedgehog-like arrangement which fits nicely in the palm of ones hand, with a hefty dense feel due to its barium content. Some of the crystals around the edges are damaged, but many of the more central crystals are nicely terminated as six-sided pyramids. This pyramidal form of Witherite actually represents a cyclic twin rather than a straightforward crystal and this is a really fine display example. There are actually very few places in the world where this form of Witherite is found and Fallowfield mine is the renowned premier locality. Ex Martin Kershaw Collection, no. 272.