A LARGE GOGOTTE OLIGOCENE (30 MILLION YEARS OLD), FONTAINEBLEAU, FRANCE

of expansive horizontal proportions and moderately flattened form with one side slightly concave, the sandstone assemblage of soft rounded volumes with burgeoning layers and cascading concretions perforated by natural openings, metal stand

In the 17^th century, King Louis XIV decorated the magnificent fountains in his gardens at the Versailles Palace with these unique prehistoric forms. As the sight for millions of visitors today, the prestigious gardens continue to be a spectacle for admiration and tribute to the exceptional quality of nature's beauty befit for a king. Such novelties, like the timeless form of the gogotte or the tusk of a narwhal, have long been the objects of wonder in the great Cabinets of Curiosity that capture the cultural imagination of humanity.

For a detailed discussion of gogotte formations, see lot 2830.