A beautiful cabinet-sized specimen of peach-colored Stilbite-Ca from Ajanta, Maharashtra, India, displaying abundant radiating, fan- and sheaf-like crystal aggregates across a dark basaltic zeolite matrix.
The stilbite ranges from soft salmon-peach to translucent creamy white, with numerous well-developed bladed crystals showing the characteristic pearly luster and cleavage of stilbite. Several areas contain particularly attractive clusters of radiating crystals, giving the specimen considerable depth and texture.
Ajanta lies within the famous Deccan Trap basaltic province of Maharashtra, where gas cavities and fractures within the basalt provided ideal environments for the formation of zeolite minerals. Stilbite is one of the characteristic secondary minerals of these cavities, commonly occurring alongside other zeolites such as apophyllite, heulandite and scolecite.
This specimen is especially appealing for its strong color contrast between the peach stilbite and dark grey matrix, as well as the variety of crystal habits visible across the piece.
Mineral: Stilbite-Ca
Locality: Ajanta, Maharashtra, India
Color: Peach, salmon, creamy white
Habit: Bladed, fan and sheaf-like aggregates
Matrix: Basaltic zeolite matrix
Identification is based on crystal morphology and locality; laboratory analysis would be required to conclusively distinguish Stilbite-Ca from closely related stellerite.
Weight: 404 gr
Measurements: 80x80x50 mm
