GOGOTTE NEPHOS Fontainebleau, France 30 million years 87 × 53 × 20 cm (measurements not including stand) Gogottes are rare, 30-million-year-old, naturally shaped sandstone concretions, found in an area near Fontainebleau, in northern France. Louis XIV of France was fascinated by them, and a great number of these wonders of nature were used to adorn the gardens at Versailles. Formed from quartz crystals, gogottes are held together by calcium carbonate. They were produced when superheated water extruded through crevices into a basin of extremely fine white silicate sand. The water was saturated with calcium carbonate (limestone). Over millions of years, the swirls and eddies of the water were captured in the gradually concreting stone, forming the most wonderful natural sculptures. The size of the Gogotte presented here is of impressive and nearly unpresented dimensions. It distinguishes itself not only by its large size, but mainly by its intricate and complexly intertwined hapes which were formed by the waters of Fontainebleau. Observing this masterpiece of nature feels like watching the clouds in the sky on a sunny day. No matter how long one observes, new forms and associations come to mind. * The full tax is charged on this item marked * in the auction catalogue, i.e. VAT is charged on the sum of the bid price plus the surcharge for those items. The VAT will be refunded to Purchasers providing a validly stamped export declaration. ------------------------------------------------- GOGOTTE NEPHOS Fontainebleau, France 30 million years 87 × 53 × 20 cm (measurements not including stand) Gogottes are rare, 30-million-year-old, naturally shaped sandstone concretions, found in an area near Fontainebleau, in northern France. Louis XIV of France was fascinated by them, and a great number of these wonders of nature were used to adorn the gardens at Versailles. Formed from quartz crystals, gogottes are held together by calcium carbonate. They were produced when superheated water extruded through crevices into a basin of extremely fine white silicate sand. The water was saturated with calcium carbonate (limestone). Over millions of years, the swirls and eddies of the water were captured in the gradually concreting stone, forming the most wonderful natural sculptures. The size of the Gogotte presented here is of impressive and nearly unpresented dimensions. It distinguishes itself not only by its large size, but mainly by its intricate and complexly intertwined hapes which were formed by the waters of Fontainebleau. Observing this masterpiece of nature feels like watching the clouds in the sky on a sunny day. No matter how long one observes, new forms and associations come to mind. Dieses mit * (Asterisk) bezeichnete Objekte ist vollumfänglich mehrwertsteuerpflichtig, d. h. bei diesen Objekten wird die MWST auf den Zuschlagspreis plus Aufgeld berechnet. Käufer, die eine rechtsgültig abgestempelte Ausfuhrdeklaration vorlegen, erhalten die MWST rückvergütet.