Tiger Iron Tabletop with Wood Base

Heritage Auctions, January 17, 2010 (Lot 53181);

Private collection, acquired from the above

AN INCREDIBLY FINE EXAMPLE OF TIGER IRON

From Paleoproterozoic Western Australia and fashioned from a single large piece of ancient tiger iron, this tabletop ripples with characteristic bands of brown, black, and deep rust red, streaked with veins of shimmering gold. The layers of tiger's eye, red jasper, hematite, and stromatolite that produce these colors have been forced inexorably together over millions of years and under unbelievable amounts of pressure. Literally layered rock, stromatolites are solid structures created by single-celled microbes called cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) and are the earliest known fossils in existence. These cyanobacteria form colonies and trap sediment with their sticky surface coatings. The trapped sediment reacts to calcium carbonate in shallow waters to form limestone. In this case, the result is one of nature's most beautiful pieces of abstract art — presented here as a highly decorative furniture piece — finely polished to a high gloss with beveled edges around the outside.