Last month we blogged about the acquisition of an important Wheal Maudlin "Horsetooth" siderite specimen from an unspecified lot of minerals at an auction in North Yorkshire.
Siderite - Wheal Maudlin, Lanlivery, Cornwall
The provenance of the piece has now been traced to having belonged to the Wyvill family at Constable Burton in North Yorkshire, UK.
It is believed the collection began in the early to mid nineteenth century, but it is not known specifically which family member was responsible as there are no labels or catalogue surviving.
Having now been through the acquisition in its entirety we have discovered and are still finding out about individual items along the way!
We have identified minerals from Devon/Cornwall, North of England, Peak District, France and Germany - which is a strange combination bearing in mind that Constable Burton is on the fringe of the mines in Wensleydale.
In all we have around 60 pieces of note and will be offering these through e-Rocks in time - we have also updated the Provenance to our database so the pieces will remain together online after dispersal.
There is also a bit more information about the Wyvill family and collection via the link.
