Fossil Sea Urchin Plate with Multiple Tripneustes...

A Window onto Provence’s Miocene — Presenting an extraordinary fossil plate from the famed sedimentary formations of Lacoste, at the heart of the Luberon Massif in France. This Miocene specimen displays a fascinating association of sea urchins of the species Tripneustes parkinsoni, beautifully fossilized in their original sandy matrix. The specimen is enhanced by an elegant white-lacquered wooden display base with stainless steel supports, custom-made to transform it into a sophisticated natural history collector’s and décor object. The visual composition is striking. The slab, in delicate ivory color with a finely grained texture, provides a stage for three principal echinoid specimens. Their preservation is exceptional: one can admire not only the details of the display case (the shell), with its polygonal plates and fine tuberculation, but also a rare proliferation of spines (radioles) still in partial anatomical connection. This feature gives the fossil real three-dimensional volume and an almost “live” appearance, capturing the organisms in a moment of quiet on the prehistoric sea floor. The fossils themselves show a subtle pinkish hue, creating a refined chromatic contrast with the surrounding rock. The genesis of such a find is a fortunate geological event. Millions of years ago, during the Miocene epoch, today’s Provence was covered by a warm, shallow sea teeming with life. At their death, these urchins settled on the sandy seabed and were buried under sediment layers in a low-energy environment, as evidenced by the preservation of the spines. This rapid burial protected them from decomposition and dispersion, triggering the fossilization process by mineralization, which substituted organic molecules with calcite, faithfully replicating every detail. The Luberon Massif is a world-renowned paleontological site, and the fossils from there are sought after by collectors worldwide. The extraction and, above all, the preparation of a slab of this quality require notable artisanal skill. The preparator’s job is to patiently remove excess rock with micro-tools to free the delicate fossil structures without damaging them. The result is a “clean” specimen that fully allows appreciation of the scientific and aesthetic beauty of the organisms. This specimen represents the perfect union of scientific documentation and a natural art object. For the collector, it is a tangible testament to a vanished marine ecosystem; for the interior designer, it is a natural sculpture whose neutral color palette and organic forms harmoniously integrate into studies, libraries, or contemporary living spaces. Its presentation on a base elevates it to an exhibit piece worthy of a modern Wunderkammer or an art gallery. Technical details Name: Fossil Plate with Tripneustes parkinsoni Classification: Echinoidea, Tripneustes parkinsoni Provenance: France, Provence-Alpes-Ce­te d’Azur Locality: Lacoste, Luberon Massif Geological period: Miocene (approximately 23 – 5 million years ago) Plate dimensions: 250 x 230 x 20 mm Plate weight: 3540 g Base: White-lacquered wood base with stainless steel supports Conditions: Naturally fossilized specimen professionally prepared.

Estimation:€1,400

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