Superb Fossilized Starfish & Sea Lily Crinoids Slab

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Exceptional Antiquities Ethnographic Fine Art...

By Artemis Gallery

Mar 24, 2022

Set Reminder 2022-03-24 10:00:00 2022-03-24 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Antiquities Ethnographic Fine Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-antiquities-ethnographic-fine-art-9057
Museum-worthy examples of classical antiquities (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern), Viking, Far East / Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal, Oceanic, Native American, Spanish Colonial, Fossils, Ancient Jewelry, Fine / Visual Arts, so much more! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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• Lot Description
  North Africa, Morocco, Anti Atlas Mountains, Ktaoua Formation, Ordovician, ca. 488 to 443 million years ago. A rare and full natural stone matrix of starfish and crinoids (sea lilies) that died and fossilized together! They were once part of the prehistoric ocean floor and professionally excavated and prepared as they were found. Each fossil is extremely three-dimensional, retaining their lifelike appearance, most show overlapping anatomy and multi-layer orientations: 3 large starfish, scattered among the frond like crinoid tentacles in deep sienna browns on a warm sandstone. The matrix is all natural, only prepared to reveal the fossils; they are not arranged or composites of multiple pieces! This cluster of starfish and crinoid fossils are some of the best we have ever seen and a specimen such as this with its impeccable preservation and dense concentration of multiple types of extinct sea life, is very uncommon in the fossil record! Sizes (starfish): 5" L (12.7 cm) to 5.75" L (14.6 cm); (matrix): 23" L x 22" W (58.4 cm x 55.9 cm)
  
  For the ultimate commercial or residential interior design application or for a public museum exhibit, this is the finest scientific grade showing of a rare and intriguing example of some of the earliest complex marine creatures on our planet. It is important to stress the quality of the overall grouping as well as the intactness of the rock layer is something that is rarely seen. All fossils on this plate are extremely three-dimensional and retain their lifelike appearance as when they were alive nearly a half a billion years ago. All the fossils were prepared exactly as they were originally buried with no fabrication or adding of parts to the fossils. Many multiple Moroccan fossil slabs are artificially created by gluing together non-original fossils on a rock base to make an impressive grouping. Such fossils are common and of little value compared to a specimen such as this, where all the fossilized life-forms died together in a layer!
  
  Despite this plant-like appearance and name "sea lily," crinoids are sea creatures that are related to starfish and sea urchins. These crinoids are of the form that attached themselves to the sea floor using a long stalk or anchor, which you can see preserved in several of the examples here. In life, these crinoids had a mouth on their top surface surrounded by feeding arms, giving them a waving, moving effect even here, frozen in stone. Many species of crinoids continue to live today, but during the Silurian period, they were much more abundant - the Silurian saw an explosion of life in the sea, and these animals would have been vibrant parts of that newly diverse ecosystem, probably brightly colored if modern sea lilies are anything to go by. Complete star fish are a rare occurrence in the fossil record, due to their skeletal composition that separates during decomposition. Dating back to nearly a half a billion years ago during the Ordovician Period, this amazing natural group fossil presents a mass extinction event! During this era, about 100 times as many meteorites struck the Earth per year, compared with today, and 2 such collisions in the Devonian and Permian and caused the demise of many echinoderm species, but some crinoids and starfish survived and rapidly diversified in a short span of 60 million years!
  
  Provenance: ex-private French collection, formed in the 1990s
  
  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.
  
  PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.
  
  Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.
  
  #170567

  Condition

  Minor repair but no fabrication. Natural group found as shown, no artificial assembly of fossils.
• Shipping Info

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