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LOT 2207
Natural History - Anhydrite Mineral Specimen Slab
6 3/4 in. (691 grams, 17 cm).
Comprising a large rectangular matrix with quartz, the upper face with calcite and large bladed anhydrite crystals. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceEx Mineral Imports, London, UK.
Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd (Gregory's).
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AUCTIONS:
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Natural History - Large Fossil Shark Vertebra
Upper Palaeocene, Thanetian Stage, circa 56 million years B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £13
From Otodus obliquus Agassiz 1843 (mackerel shark). 234 grams, 79 mm
From the Ouled Abdoun Basin Formation (Phosphate beds), Oued Zem, Morocco, North Africa. From an old Oxfordshire fossil and mineral collection. -
Natural History - Cut Amethyst Crystal Geode Segment
Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
Comprising large well-formed purple amethyst crystals on a thick matrix. 682 grams, 95 mm
From Brazil. Ex Mineral Imports, London, UK. Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd (Gregory's). -
Natural History - Large Historic Cut & Polished Porphyry Slice
Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
Comprising lacquered porphyry slice of irregular shape, cut and polished on one side, probably recycled material mined in ancient Roman times between the 1st and 5th century A.D. 917 grams, 28 cm
From Egypt. Ex Mineral Imports, London, UK. Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd (Gregory's).
Mons Porphyrites (today Jabal Abu Dukhkhan) is the mountainous site of a group of ancient quarries in the Red Sea Hills of the inhospitable eastern desert in Egypt, a five day trip from the Nile during Roman times. They were discovered by Caius Cominus Leugas in 18 A.D., and during the Roman Empire the mines officially belonged to the emperor and were the only known source of the Imperial Porphyry, Mons Porphyrites. This dark purple stone was associated with royalty and used for prestigious sculpture and architecture. The location of the mines was lost some time in the 5th century, and rediscovered in the early 19th century. Excavations in the area have revealed the well-preserved quarries and the dwelling places of the quarry men, and also thousands of ostraca have been discovered containing messages that provide details of how the quarrying took place, and of how the highly skilled quarrymen ordered their food.
