Central Africa, Tanzania, ca. 585 million years ago. This is a stunning tanzanite gemstone, the rare blue variety of zoisite that is only found in Tanzania. Tanzanite is naturally trichroic with hues of brown, blue, and violet, but when heated - either naturally by metamorphic processes or by humans - the brown tones fade and create a more harmonious coloring. Tanzanite is a product of plate tectonic activity and intense heat from the formation of Mount Kilimanjaro. Tanzanite is a relatively new gemstone, discovered in 1967 by a gold prospector, it was tested and found to be a variety of blue zoisite, unknown until then. The name tanzanite was suggested by Tiffany & Co. because they thought "blue zoisite" might be mispronounced as "blue suicide" and would not be a marketable gemstone name. Size: 1.35" L x 0.35" W (3.4 cm x 0.9 cm); 1.65" H (4.2 cm) on included custom stand.
Provenance: private Hagar collection, Wildwood, Missouri, USA
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance),
we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.
Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.
#168041
Condition
Blue and violet hues are vibrant and there is no brown toning. Abrasions from excavation or preparing on verso.