Fontainebleau, France

Gogottes are mineral formations of exceptional natural beauty, with delicate layers sculpted over millions of years by the mineral-rich waters of northern France's Fontainebleau region. Once believed to be made of chalk due to their pale colour and powdery texture, gogottes are actually formed by calcium carbonate binding with fine quartz grains. Their unique shapes, resembling clouds and dreamlike imagery, have captivated viewers for centuries; such visually arresting forms are the result of a mineralization process which takes approximately 30 million years.

As early as the late seventeenth century, gogottes were prized for their unique aesthetic appeal by the highest echelons of French nobility. Louis XIV “the Sun King” of France (r. 1643-1715) was so enthralled by these natural formations that he ordered excavations in and around the region of Fontainebleau, as highly unusual ornaments for his palatial gardens. Indeed, gogottes still adorn L’Encelade, Les Trois Fontaines, and La Salle de Bal at Versailles, and have enchanted visitors for more than three centuries.

With their swirling formations and abstract holes and crevices, gogottes have inspired modern sculptors throughout the twentieth century. As dynamic snapshots of elemental metamorphosis, they were particularly well received by impressionist and surrealist sculptors. Similar forms are evident in the recumbent figures by Henry Moore, while the white marble compositions by Jean Arp (S’accroupissant, 1960-1962) and Louise Bourgeois (Cumul I, 1969) all evoke the arresting and unpredictable formations of gogottes.

In recent years, a large gogotte specimen was gifted to the Natural History Museum in London, to mark the 90th birthday of naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough. Large intact sandstone concretions are uncommon and the rarest of gogottes, in part due to the natural damage they receive over time, but equally because large gogottes are more ancient. Growing slowly over time as more quartz binds to the calcium, their surfaces became more intricate, complex and fantastical. Indeed, the present Lot is a rare example of such an ancient formation, the complexity of its swirling concretions captivating in both its beauty and the incredulity of its natural design.