It's been quite some time since we've had a piece of Eden Valley petrified wood large enough to cut good bookends of this stature from but boy did this piece come through! This is one of the largest and most dramatic sets we've ever produced! They would look very impressive on a mantle or in a nice library. This very unusual log was still completely encased in the fossil algae that preserved these logs millions of years ago. In most cases this algae has long since weathered away from the wood and is found only as a telltale clue on the desert floor that petrified wood might be nearby. But this log still had the absolutely perfectly shaped algae cast around the entire outer rind and it's completely naturally formed with no damage. The algae is more porous (a bit like concrete) and doesn't polish to the same degree that the highly agatized wood inside does, but the presentation is so unique and so beautiful that we just couldn't resist making this large set of bookends out of this unusual piece of stone! It's not common to find this stone with the algae still bound so tightly to the log that it can be cut like this. The natural arch shape is the natural termination of the thick algae layer. This gorgeous set has to be seen to be appreciated. The face is polished to an absolutely mirror perfect finish. The back of one shows the botryoidal agate of the natural end of the log just barely escaping the edge of the saw cut. It's quite beautiful! This pair goes beyond yet another gorgeous set of petrified wood bookends - they are truly a once in a lifetime cut in a beautiful pair of natural works of art!
This is a nice medium sized set of bookends from one of the most colorful petrified wood deposits in the US. The highly agatized fossil wood used in this set comes from the Blue Forest digs in Wyoming. This is a highly prized deposit among wood collectors and one of the most beautiful in the world. The agatized wood is a really rich combination of colors with black, blue and tan being the dominant shades. They actually look like they've been painted with an electronic paintbrush, but it's 100%25 natural color produced over millions of years of slow agate replacement of the original wood fossil. The wood grain is very detailed as well and is well enough preserved that I can positively identify the fossil species as pepper wood! There's lots of fossilized algae framing the log and several pockets of golden calcite as well as blue agate that formed in voids.
We select only the largest and showiest pieces of petrified wood to cut into bookends. These pieces are carefully cut in our shop so that you end up with a perfectly matched pair, one agate piece is the mirror image of the other. Of course, there are plenty of differences in the two halves, but the photo should let you appreciate how well we do this. The bookends sit perfectly upright and are completely square to one another. They are felted on both the sides and bottom to protect the books and the shelf. We make sure they are 100%25 functional on top of being beautiful! Of course, these agates proudly show the perfect polish that the Sticks-in-Stones rockshop has dedicated itself to. The finish looks poured on - but there's nothing there except rock!! This is the only set of bookends we have cut from this location so don't miss this fabulous natural treasure! Each half measures about 11" tall & 10" wide at the widest spot on the polished face. They're cut just under 2" thick. Weight for this set is 28.8 lbs. which makes these bookends suitable for paperbacks and medium sized novels, or even text books. What better way to accentuate a bookshelf or your mantle than with this unbelievable natural work of art! Don't miss them! Sticks-in-Stones Lapidary is happily providing UPS & USPS shipping to greatly reduce shipping charges on large rock orders. We will combine auction items or provide additional items from our shop to bring you the greatest possible value in fine Lapidary & stone collectibles!