Stilbite

This aesthetic specimen from Pune (Poona), India, features a beautifully formed "bow tie"-shaped cluster of soft, pearly, snow-white stilbite-Ca crystals resting atop another. The piece is in excellent condition, with superb displayability. While Indian zeolites remain common on the market, future mining at Wagholi faces uncertainty due to modern development, making high-quality specimens like this increasingly valuable.

The Wagholi quarry complex, consisting of around 40 small quarries, has been a prolific source of world-class zeolites since the 1990s. The exposed basalt lava in this area belongs to the Lonavala Subgroup and was extruded approximately 65 million years ago as part of the Deccan flood volcanism. This specimen, accompanied by an old University of British Columbia label, is a fine representative of one of the world's premier stilbite localities.

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This specimen comes from the collection of Dr. Peter Tarassoff, a prominent figure in mineralogy, particularly known for his work at Mont Saint-Hilaire (MSH). His diligent collecting and examination efforts have led him to be the first to identify at least 35 species and discover 12 new species, not only at MSH but also at other alkaline localities. Dubbed the "Dean" of Mont Saint-Hilaire collectors, Peter was honoured with the naming of the new species petarasite in 1980. He has authored or co-authored numerous mineralogical articles and has been a member of the Mineralogical Association of Canada since 1964. Additionally, Peter has volunteered at the Redpath Museum for the past 21 years, where he was formally appointed the Honorary Curator of Mineralogy. In recognition of his significant contributions to mineralogy, Peter was awarded the 2017 Pinch Medal