Massive Triassic Arizona Petrified Wood Slab

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Fine Antiquities, Asian, Pre-Columbian, Ethno...

By Artemis Gallery

May 11, 2023

Set Reminder 2023-05-11 10:00:00 2023-05-11 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Fine Antiquities, Asian, Pre-Columbian, Ethnographic Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/fine-antiquities-asian-pre-columbian-ethnographic-art-12771
Classical antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art from cultures encompassing the globe. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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• Lot Description
  **Originally Listed At $2750**
  
  North America, Southwestern United States, Arizona, Late Triassic, ca. 225 million years ago. A massive and gorgeous slab of fossilized, petrified tree trunk, sliced crossways and polished to a mirror finish on one of the planar faces to showcase the broad interior rings of the tree as well as the incredible coloration. The once organic material has fossilized, replaced by rough stone, while the smooth interior features incredible, colorful quartz, and agate. The colors are mesmerizing - dominated by warm hues of red, rusty orange, and maroon with creamy white, gray-black, lilac, and mauve swirls and striations. The flat face on the verso is sealed to protect the surface. Size: 22" L x 1.5" W (55.9 cm x 3.8 cm)
  
  Fossilized trees from this time period come from the Chinle Formation of the southwestern USA, and the beautiful colors found in this formation - exemplified by the colors of this fossilized tree - give the Painted Desert of Arizona its name. Due to plate tectonics, this area was near the equator on the supercontinent Pangaea during the Late Triassic, which gave it a humid, sub-tropical climate. It was a floodplain below mountains to its south and a sea to its west; as a result, massive trees washed down from the mountains and came to rest in sediments that preserved them and fossilized them. The petrification process involves the rapid burial of the tree or pieces under sediment which prevents the usual decay. Flooding and volcanic activity are usually responsible for the layers of sand, silt, and ash needed to create the right types and amount of sediment. Mineralized water can then permeate through the wood, coating cell walls and filling the intercellular cavities which then fossilizes into stone. The detailed preservation of the wood, including knots, rings, and bark, are possible because the organic wood molecules become coated and surrounded with smaller silica molecules. Nine different species of tree have been identified in the fossilized deposits in the region; this example may be Araucarioxylon arizonicum, an extinct conifer tree (and the state fossil of Arizona). Fascinatingly, the Ancestral Puebloan people who lived in the region approximately 1000 years ago used petrified wood for making tools and even building houses!
  
  Provenance: Private Berthoud, Colorado, USA collection
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
  We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
  
  #174784

  Condition

  Professionally cut and polished on both faces. Protective sealant on planar face added to verso face for stability. Minor surface chips and abrasions. Amazing coloration throughout.
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