Another day, another dollop of excitement, courtesy of London’s much-loved Natural History Museum. Today’s particularly exciting piece of news comes in the form of a rare and remarkable crystallised gold specimen that’s just gone on display.
Visitors to the South Kensington museum can now get up-close-and-personal with what has been described as one of the finest mineral treasures in the world. Nicknamed due to its spectacular shape and appearance, the Dragon is on loan from the Houston Museum of Natural Science – and this is its UK debut.
You’ll find the Dragon on display in the museum‘s recently-refurbished Vault gallery. As well as operating as a working vault, the space doubles as a unique gallery space and currently has some of nature’s sparkliest and most valuable treasures on show.
Beautifully-crystallised gold is extremely rare to find, and so the fact that the crystals on the Dragon are so well-formed make this item a particularly impressive discovery. A mineral masterpiece, if you will. The Dragon has replaced a piece of Winchombe meteorite that will now be on display as part of the museum’s new exhibition, Space: Could Life Exist Beyond Earth?
A Natural History Museum Mineral Curation spokesperson said: “The Dragon is such a famous specimen, it’s great to have it on display for the next year alongside other treasures of the mineralogical kingdom. Being able to contrast the absolute perfection of its gold crystals with the tactile rounded crystals of the Latrobe nugget, displayed nearby, is both a unique opportunity and a real treat for anyone interested in and inspired by the most noble of metals.”
