As collectors of exquisite mineral specimens, we strive to acquire the very finest known examples. In our quest, we access our knowledge, our reason, history, and taste. However, our most powerful tool is our passion. When we spot a mineral that our intellect tells us is among the finest we have ever encountered, our rational thought melts away into something quite irrational. We are suddenly overcome with subconscious powerful forces. Our thoughts focus on one and only one thing; passionate intense desire—we have fallen in love.
What you will see as you browse this exhibition are the “Sirens” of the mineral kingdom. These are the specimens that lure you to irrational thought. The pieces that are pure objects of desire. They transcend their species becoming more experience than object.
Minerals of this superb quality, so excessively rare, so artfully beautiful, as to make a collector give themselves over to the “Siren’s Song.” Leonardo da Vinci wrote, “The siren sings so sweetly that she lulls the mariners to sleep; then she climbs upon the ships and kills the sleeping mariners.”
These are the six “Sirens” who will slay collectors with their beauty, perfection, and rarity.
—Stuart Wilensky
