This is one of the finest rhexoxylon specimens in a smaller sized slab that we've ever offered at auction from one of these amazing and rare fossils. This 6 1/2" beautiful and well preserved stone is a fossil Rhexoxylon from Zimbabwe, Africa. It's one of the rarest of the fossil plants we've had the privilege of working with and one of only a few that we've auctioned this entire year. This one is one of the best preserved and delicately articulated trunk sections I've seen from this ancient forest, and appears to represent a younger and particularly detailed Rhex that is 100% complete. I suspect that from the shape of the petioles and the fine articulation of the exterior of the specimen that this would have been from near the top of the plant. The exterior rind on this one is simply mind boggling and shows the vine like weave that these trunks consisted of in amazing, natural 3-D relief. We've lapped and polished the display face to a mirror perfect finish to both reveal the fine growth structure these intertwined structures produce and to bring the amazing color to life! This one is a true museum specimen that has been carefully prepared to be just that. The face reveals a full ring of the characteristic, petal shaped growth structures that frame the pith. The edges and sides are nicely articulated and are rarely found in this kind of condition, showing the vine like growth character of this seldom seen petrified wood specimen in clear detail. It represents a wonderful and really colorful example of a rare fossil in a nice to display size. We rarely come across this material and may never be able to acquire it again so don't miss the chance of adding one of these unique and amazing slices to your petrified wood collection!
This unusual looking specimen is a Rhexoxylon fossil in it's nearly natural found state. It was thought to be a vine like plant with a woody trunk. It's very old (from the Molteno Formation -- Mid-Late Triassic). This one has very nice cell structure in the unusual formations that make up the pattern within the trunk cross section. The large hollow center is characteristic of the species though the best specimens still show a porous pulpy center of plant structure (I now believe the hollow ones decayed quickly or were consumed by something and lost this pulpy center before being petrified). These fossils are particularly rare and good solid agatized ones like this are a special treat for petrified wood collectors. The wood has a very high silica content so we're able to coax a really nice polish out of the specimen.
This slab is cut from one of the few reasonably complete logs in this size range that I was able to obtain from an importer a couple of years back. I hand picked the best specimens from the lot and then prepared them in my shop to produce true collector grade specimens. If the timeless mystery of this piece isn't enough for you, then I'm certain the simple, natural, gemmy beauty of it will be. The colors are high contrast and the wood grain is unique to this exotic species. This slab is cut from the center of the log and mirror polished to reveal all of the fossil growth detail and color in this very solid log. It's really a nice piece, but what else would you expect from a business named "Sticks-in-Stones"?! We've applied all of our considerable lapidary skills to bring out a mirror finish and produce a specimen worthy of display in your own collection. This nice truly breathtaking specimen measures about 6 5/8" x 3 3/8" across the mirror polished face and is cut about 0.43" thick. Weight is 0.60 lbs.Sticks-in-Stones Lapidary is happily providing UPS & USPS shipping to greatly reduce shipping charges on large rock orders. We will combine all of your purchases from our shop to bring you the greatest possible value in fine Lapidary & stone collectibles!