Natural History - Mastodon Bone Face Carving

Displaying a spray of well-formed acicular crystals on a light grey matrix, the stilbite crystals with bluish iridescence, collection number 598; bought from Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd for £48.00 in the 1980s, with an old label. 481 grams, 12.5 cm



Acquired on the UK mineral and fossil market, since 1970. From the historic mineral collection of Richard Valentine Cain, London, UK, thence by descent. Accompanied by an original historic index file card.

A pair of Charonosaurus sp. hadrosaur eggs on a matrix retaining evidence of the original leathery surface. 8.85 kg, 27.5 cm



Acquired 1983-1990. Private collection, Hove, UK.

Hadrosaurs were large dinosaurs, growing up to 10 metres in length, belonging to the ‘Duck-Billed’ group of dinosaurs. They are considered the ‘herd animal’ of the Cretaceous, having been found buried together in their thousands. Dinosaur egg fossils are known from approximately two-hundred sites around the word, particularly in Asia. This nest comes from the Xixia Formation, Henan region of China, which produces some of the best preserved eggs in the world. These eggs can yield entire embryos within them, making them an essential tool for understanding the biology of these creatures.

An irregular stony meteorite. 183 grams, 74 mm



Found near Al Mahbas, Sahara Desert, Morocco.

Chondrites originated in the asteroid belt where collisions and gravitational perturbations put them into Earth-crossing orbits. Chondrites formed as part of the formation of their parent asteroids approximately 4.56 billion years ago. They also contain material that predates the formation of the solar system, including organic matter and tiny grains that formed around dying stars.