Large Petrified Wood Tabletop
Late Triassic (approx. 220 million years ago), Holbrook, Arizona, United States
Auction Closed
July 14, 07:13 PM GMT
Estimate
25,000 - 35,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Large Petrified Wood Tabletop
Araucarioxylon arizonicum
Late Triassic (approx. 220 million years ago)
Holbrook, Arizona, USA
Petrified wood slab measures 61½ x 40½ x 2 inches (156.2 x 102.9 x 5.1 cm), wood backing measures 56¾ x 36½ x 1¾ (144.1 x 92.7 x 4.4 cm). 550 pounds (249.5 kg).
The cut and polished section of fossil wood reveals the vibrant colors caused by a variety of ground minerals. This large and decorative example from the Late Triassic is in good condition. The slice is backed for use as a tabletop.
Petrified wood from the United States — and in particular, from Arizona's Petrified Forest — is often considered the finest in the world. This specimen, a massive tabletop slab from the extinct conifer Araucarioxylon arizonicum, has fossilized with many beautiful and uncommon colors — in particular, hues of purple, blue, and grey — the result of iron oxide, hematite, and other minerals absorbing into the wood as it crystalized more than 200 million years ago following a massive flood, burying it in an mineral-rich, aqueous environment. The veining and internal structure of the original tree has been preserved here in quartz, creating a time capsule of arboreal life in the Late Triassic.