Banded Iron Formation with Red Jasper, Haematite & Tiger's Eye

A magnificent example of a gogotte formation composed of thick swirls and folds of sparkling sandstone. Discovered in the Oligocene sand dunes of Fontainebleau, France, formed circa 30 million years before present or later. The incredible, almost otherworldly appearance of gogottes may easily be mistaken for the work of a most talented artist. In fact, these sandstone sculptures are entirely natural in origin. They have been found in multiple locations but those from Fontainebleau, such as the present example, are the most remarkable. Thirty-five million years ago, a sea covered what is now the forest of Fontainebleau, and dunes of exceptionally fine and homogenous sand formed. As silica-rich water filtered through this sand, it turned into stone. The flow of water finely modelled the sandstone into the aesthetic concretions we now know as gogottes. These are rare and are only found sporadically several metres deep into the ground. They owe their sparkling white appearance to the extreme and unmatched purity of the Fontainebleau sand, sometimes reaching a composition of 99.9% silica. Each of them is unique – a masterpiece slowly fashioned by the hands of Nature. The intriguing name of “gogotte” was coined by French geologist Claude Guillemin (1923- 1994), who was inspired by the children’s book series Babar the Elephant. In one of the books, a group of monsters called Gogottes are shown hiding behind rocks. These rocks reminded Guillemin of the sandstone concretions...

A complete cross section of one of the most beautiful meteorites known, displaying shimmering, translucent olivine and peridot gems, embedded in an iron-nickel metallic matrix. The ...

Stony-iron, pallasite - PMG Circa 4.5 Billion y/o Weight: 34.68 kg Height (including base): 53 cm Width: 29 cm A magnificent and extremely sculptural specimen of the Seymchan meteor...

A magnificent and extremely sculptural specimen of the Seymchan meteorite, recovered in the Russian Far East. This rare and large end cut preserves the patinated and partially melted...

A stunning hand carved 2.2 lb tiger's eye sculpture depicting dragon chasing a pearl in the late Qing dynasty style. The four-clawed dragon under the auspicious clouds has one front ...

Contemporary American sculptor Wendy Hendelman's Tiger's Eye Head Sculpture on marble base. Hendelman’s work reflects her love of the primitive and the ancient. The small scale and s...

Wonderful decorative golden brown Tiger's Eye veneered pedestal. This large decor item has an attractive mix of yellows, golden browns with variations and shimmer typical to Tiger Ey...

Wonderful decorative golden brown Tiger's Eye veneered Obelisks. This large decor item has an attractive mix of yellows, golden browns with variations and shimmer typical to Tiger Ey...