Beautiful Gogotte Fontainebleau natural piece of art, "sleeping bird"

• You can see all kind of recognition in these natural shaped piece of natural art, I call this one the "Sleeping bird".

Gogottes are undeniably among nature's most extraordinary artworks, serving as inspiration for artists like Roger Caillois and Jean Arp. They are prominently featured in major private collections and museums. One such specimen, displayed at the Royal Ontario Museum, is among the most photographed by visitors. The Smithsonian Institute's gogotte, placed next to the famous blue diamond "Hope," showcases the mineral kingdom's perfection through its diverse components.

Definition Geologically, a gogotte is a sandstone concretion bonded with siliceous cement. Sand grains are cemented in place by silica deposited from water circulating within the sand layer. Chemically, a gogotte is almost entirely silica, similar in composition to quartz crystal.

Age: Often, the age of the sand layer containing gogottes (around 30 million years) is mistaken for their actual formation date. Research by Leonard Thiry in 2012 on Fontainebleau calcites revealed surprising results: two major formation periods, 30,000-50,000 years and 300,000 years ago. Gogottes are thus much more recent than typically assumed.

Mineral Deposits: While concretion in sandy formations is common, gogottes like those in museums or private collections are rare, found only in France within the "Fontainebleau sands" formation. This formation, part of the Paris basin, is uniquely characterized by its fine grain, high homogeneity, and up to 99.9% silica purity, essential for gogotte formation.

Morphology Gogottes appear sporadically within this formation, often interconnected in horizontal slabs. Typically white or light gray, they can also be red or brown due to iron oxides. Fractured surfaces may show alternating light and oxidized sandstones, reflecting changes in the feeding waters over time. Fine black spots of manganese oxides can also be observed. Gogottes may include elements from the sand layer, like sandy calcites, flint stones, or rare fossils. The upper part of a gogotte often shows coarser textures and dissolution signs, unlike the lower part. The varying colors of gogotte bulges relate to the mineral content in the feeding waters, suggesting they form through successive localized coatings rather than all at once.

Genesis Several theories explain gogotte formation. Studies on the sandstone formation in "sables de Fontainebleau" (Thiry and Bertrand-Ayrault, 1988) and field observations indicate that gogottes formed at groundwater level. Silica-laden water flowed through the sand, depositing silica based on physico-chemical changes, similar to cave concretion formation. The exact conditions causing silica instability in water remain unclear. However, Thiry's 2012 dating of Fontainebleau calcite aligns with the last glacial period, suggesting that groundwater interacting with permafrost released silica. This dual mechanism of frozen ground warming by groundwater could explain gogotte color variations and formation.

Historical Significance: Gogottes have been celebrated for centuries. In the late seventeenth century, French nobility, including Louis XIV, admired their aesthetics. The Sun King ordered extensive excavations around Fontainebleau to decorate his palace gardens. Gogottes still adorn areas like L’Encelade, Les Trois Fontaines, and La Salle de Bal at Versailles, enchanting visitors for over 300 years.

Artistic Influence: Gogottes continued to inspire artists into the 20th century, especially impressionist and surrealist sculptors. Henry Moore's recumbent figures and Jean Arp's white marble compositions (S’accroupissant, 1960-1962) and Louise Bourgeois's Cumul I (1969) evoke the striking and unpredictable forms of gogottes, reflecting their dynamic and elemental nature.

The name “gogotte” was coined by French geologist Claude Guillemin (1923- 1994), inspired by the children’s book series Babar the Elephant. In one of the books, a group of monsters called Gogottes are shown hiding behind rocks. These rocks reminded Guillemin of the sandstone sculptures from Fontainbleau, and the name has stuck since. Not sure if this is true though.

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