Lot 91
Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Miocene to Pliocene epoch, ca. 2 to 23 million years ago. A fragment of deep time, arrested mid-grain. This substantial section of silicified wood preserves, with uncommon fidelity, the fibrous longitudinal cellular architecture of a tropical hardwood indigenous to the ancient forests of the Indonesian archipelago, where volcanic ash burial and silica-rich groundwater infiltration conspired over millions of years to transform living tissue into stone without erasing the memory of the tree. The pale cream and warm tan ground is characteristic of Indonesian silicification, which favors clean mineral replacement over the chromatic agate banding seen in more dramatic but less structurally candid examples. Prominent across the central face, a diagonal tract of compressed vascular tissue, perhaps a healed branch union, reads as a dark calligraphic gesture through the grain, lending the piece an almost compositional quality. The surviving bark or outer cambial layer along the upper margin reinforces the specimen's natural integrity. A compelling object for the natural history collector and the discerning eye alike, it asks to be held, or at minimum stared at for considerably longer than is strictly professional. Size: 10.6" W x 6.5" H x 6" D (26.9 cm W x 16.5 cm H x 15.2 cm D)
Provenance: private West Covina, California, USA collection
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Item #
202692
- Condition: Very Good. Professionally cut with scattered earthen and mineral deposits throughout. Otherwise, nice condition. Modern felt pad at one corner from previous display.
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