Bring your auction to collectors worldwide!
Get listed nowBy subscribing, you are agreeing to the privacy policy. Unsubscribe anytime.
Barnebys HQ
Brahegatan 10
BOX 5038
114 37 Stockholm
All auctions / Ethnographical / Purple Charoite with Silky Chatoyancy and Contrasting...
First Quality Selection — This lot features a freeform sculpture of remarkable size, carved from a prime block of top-quality charoite. The specimen, with its organic, sinuous form, has been masterfully mirror-polished to highlight the intricate intrinsic beauty of this rare mineral, originating from its world’s only source locality: the Murun Massif in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Siberia, Russia. The visual impact is dominated by an incredible range of purplish hues, spanning from pale lilac to deep lavender, reaching tones of deep and almost regal violet. These chromatic tones are not uniform but interweave in vortices, bands, and fibrous‑agglomerated patterns that create an abstract painterly effect. The most distinctive feature of charoite is its silky luster, a chatoyancy that makes light dance across the surface, imparting it with unique depth and vitality. This optical effect is a direct consequence of its fibrous microcrystalline structure. To further enhance the color composition are inclusions of other associated minerals. Notable are bold patches and dendrites of a deep black belonging to aegirine, which create a dramatic and powerful contrast with the violet tones. Upon close inspection, small areas of gray‑whitish feldspar and, at times, orange‑looking tinaksite crystals can also be discerned, adding further layers of mineralogical complexity and interest. The freeform, sculptural shape of the specimen, paired with a perfectly flat base that ensures stability, transform it into a natural art object. Each face of the piece reveals a new inner landscape, a new perspective on the patterns that nature carved into the rock millions of years ago. The processing respected the natural contours of the rough block, emphasizing its volume and intrinsic movement. Charoite is a complex silicate whose discovery is relatively recent and whose genesis is tied to a rare metasomatic process. Its extreme rarity, confined to a single deposit, makes it one of the most sought-after mineral gems by collectors around the world. A specimen of this size and quality represents not only a piece of geological history but also an exceptional decorative element, perfect for enriching a modern Wunderkammer, a professional studio, or a design interior, where its presence catalyzes attention and tells a story of distant Siberian beauty.
Estimate:£2,144.91
To the auctionView all items fromCatawikiorEthnographical
Estimate:
£2,144.91
Niels Helledie: Standing two-part figure. Unsigned. Stoneware. H.
09/29/2026
£799.86
Est: £1,146.51
Valdemar Foersom Hegndal: Standing Figure. Signed. Sculpture of carved
09/29/2026
£799.86
Est: £687.45
Niels Helledie: Christ. Unsigned. Wall-mounted relief in partly painted
09/29/2026
£857
Est: £572.88
Ronson Brass Monkey Lighter and Ashtray with Monkey Coin Bank, Vintage
09/29/2026
£102.53
Est: £23.39
Bring your auction to collectors worldwide!
Get listed now
