Vibrant Arizona Triassic Petrified Wood Polished Slab

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All That Glitters | Ancient & Ethnographic

By Artemis Gallery

Dec 9, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-12-09 12:00:00 2021-12-09 12:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : All That Glitters | Ancient & Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/all-that-glitters-ancient-ethnographic-8000
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• Lot Description
  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 highly polished on both planar sides to showcase the broad interior rings of the tree - not only beautiful but providing invaluable information about fossilization processes! The exterior bark has also fossilized, replaced by rough stone, while the smooth interior features incredible, colorful quartz, agate, and translucent crystalline structures which are visible in the small vugs (cavities)! It is quite possible these vugs were caused by insect activity before fossilization. The colors are mesmerizing - dominated by warm hues of red and maroon, purple, with creamy white and lilac blue striations and swirls. The photos are nice, but the subtle shimmering crystal are best appreciated in person! This is a stunning piece to display or to use as a side table with the addition of a sturdy base! Size: 15.5" Diameter x 1" W (39.4 cm x 2.5 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. During the Late Triassic, because of plate tectonics, this area was near the equator on the supercontinent Pangaea, with 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 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 creating 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), which is often found. Fascinatingly, the Ancestral Puebloan people who lived in the region approximately one thousand years ago used petrified wood for making tools and even building houses!
  
  Provenance: private southwestern Pennsylvania, USA collection, acquired prior to 2000
  
  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.
  
  #168558

  Condition

  Professionally cut and polished. Chips and loss to one planar face and along peripheries. Natural cavities and vugs in the surface. Gorgeous coloration throughout.
• Shipping Info

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