Natural Gogotte Sculpture Form on Bronze 1.6ft - Mickey Mouse

Unique sculptural Gogotte 'Micky' discovered in the Phosphate deposits of Benguerir, Oulad Abdoun Basin, near Casablanca, Morocco. It dates from the Oligocene Period and is 30 - 60 million years old approximately.

The unique sculptural form of a Gogotte discovered in the Phosphate deposits of Benguerir, Oulad Abdoun Basin, near Casablanca, Morocco. It dates from the Oligocene Period and is 30 - 60 million years old approximately.

The form was mainly in this region of quartz crystals and calcium carbonate. Where superheated water naturally creates Gogottes under enormous pressure when extruded through crevices of extremely fine white silicate. The water became heavily saturated with calcium carbonate (Limestone), and so the swirls of the liquidious mass have over a long time become solid stone, which emulates the movement under the earth where pools of the mineral-saturated concretions were captured in the gradual concreting limestone, forming the beautiful and natural freeform sculptures.

Sir David Attenborough recently unveiled an enormous specimen at the British Museum, London.

Art stone culture; Ancient Chinese texts refer to nature concerning a life force or Qi, a belief that absorbed into the formal philosophies of Daoism and Confucianism and which permeates the Chinese intellectual psyche of today. In the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the elite and scholarly classes brought natural forms, such as rocks, into a domestic context. A golden period for the arts where nature inspired philosophy, poetry, calligraphy and painting. Rocks and roots continue to be collected today, the most prized examples having been passed down from collector to collector over many generations.
The sculptor Henry Moore owned an example, and the French Surrealists were known to have been inspired by them.
Gogottes are also on exhibit at The Smithsonian Institute in Washington, beside The Hope Diamond! They have recently termed a contemporary literati curiosity.
And of course, the most well-known gogottes are to be found in Fontainebleau, France. Favoured by Louis XIV of France (1638 -1715) who used them to decorate the gardens at Versailles, most notably l’Encelade built in 1675-8, Les Trois Fontaines in 1677-9 and La Salle de Bal in 1680-5.
And other places where they are venerated such as The Garden Gogottes located in the district of Villaroy Guyancourt in the Yvelines. Which is a work conceived in 1996 by the urban planner Jean-Noël Capart with the landscape architect Jacques Simon. The sculptor Philolaos Tloupas has inserted his Gogottes into a garden.

The french found gogotte's are roughly thirty millions-of-years old, naturally shaped mineral rarity consisting of tiny quartz fragments held together by calcium carbonate. As an underground water stream slowly filters through the sand. The most prized examples of gogottes are found in Fontainebleau, France, the site of the Imperial Palace of Napoleon I, where they have been protected in a sandy basin for over 30 million years. Louis XIV of France, known as the Sun King, commissioned similar gogottes to be excavated for his gardens, the three Fountains designed by Le Nôtre in 1677. Known to have inspired artists from the Surrealist Art movement, including Jean Arp, these wonderful forms can compare to the most beautiful modern sculpture. A particularly well-preserved example of a sandstone concretion is on display at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C.

Created by the natural elements and minerals found within the deposits of surrounding bedrocks combined with time and pressure. The Gogotte freeform has inspired and equally intrigued natives, royalty, intellects, poets, and sculptors over the passing centuries bringing this collection to our fingertips. The formation of the Gogotte, in reality, limestone and quartz create a smooth surface, an anomaly which has been the curio for many collections in recent years globally.

Overall measurements on base.
Height: 49.5 cm
Width: 18.0 cm
depth: 12.0 cm

Gogotte measurements.
Height: 37.0 cm
Width: 18.0 cm

Approximate Weight: 6.0 Kg