A Natural Sculpture

The Gogotte

The finest concretion recovered from the most important discovery at the famed site of Fontainebleau. ‘The Gogotte’ challenges the boundary between nature and art. It stands as perhaps the most anthropomorphic natural formation known, epitomising the pinnacle of pareidolia – that innate human tendency to see meaningful shapes in abstract forms. It is inescapably a figure; a god, an idol or a warrior.

A Natural Formation

Almost otherworldly in its appearance, the present piece is an entirely natural formation. It is believed to have been formed between 300,000 and 30,000 years ago by the almost instantaneous cementation of silica-rich groundwater percolating through the pure quartz sand of the Fontainebleau desert¹. But its sparkling white surface is due to a much earlier geological process, occurring over 30 million years before present. During this period, the continually flooding and retreating seas filtered the sand dunes of the Paris Basin, leaving behind some of the purest sand in the world. Coveted for its important properties, often reaching 99.7% silica, the desert has been mined throughout history, beginning in 1752, with the establishment of glass factories under the reign of Louis XVI².

During one such extraction in the late 1980s, miners unearthed a considerable cache of these specimens. Fascinated by the recent discoveries in Fontainebleau and likening them to works by Michelangelo, Seattle-based mineral collector and dealer, Richard Berger sought to acquire as many as he could, for his exhibition, the ‘Masterworks of the Earth’. From a 520-million-year-old crystal cluster from Namibia, to a giant ammonite fossil from the Chihuahuan Desert, the collection certainly lived up to its name. But it was the gogottes of Fontainebleau that were its crowning glory. In particular, the present specimen was singled out for use on the promotional material for the exhibition.

An Incredible Discovery

As incredible ‘ambassadors of the Earth,’ gogottes have become a fundamental display piece of the natural history museum. In particular, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Yale Peabody Museum, and the Smithsonian Natural History Museum all acquired their specimens from the Richard Berger collection. Their importance is underscored by their prominent placement; in the Smithsonian, it is one of the seven geological specimens which surround arguably the most famous gemstone in the world, the Hope Diamond.

Still from the Smithsonian’s VR Tour of the Harry Winston Gallery, 1997. Centre: The Hope Diamond Display. Right corner (circled): Gogotte specimen acquired from R. Berger, NMNH 118202.

Terribilità

From the moment of their discovery, gogottes have captivated all those who have come into contact with them. The Sun King, Louis XIV (1638-1715) had them excavated for his gardens at Versailles, while, more recently, they have inspired Surrealist artists, such as Jean Arp and Henry Moore, with their experimentation with abstraction.

Just as Shakespeare’s Anthony sees shapes in shifting clouds, on seeing The Gogotte, it is natural to experience pareidolia, the innate desire to perceive a meaningful image in its random curves and shapes. Endeavouring to understand these geological specimens, we see in their folds a certain familiarity; in the present formation, an anthropomorphic figure, simultaneously a god, an idol and a warrior. Known to the ‘Masterworks of the Earth’ collection as The Sumo, this human-like concretion has captivated all since its discovery. In admiring its forms, we are perhaps also reminded of the cycladic figures of the ancient Mediterranean, or the futuristic distortions of Umberto Boccioni’s sculptures. Blurring the line between art and nature, this concretion, with its sparkling surface and anthropomorphic silhouette, embodies the meaning intended by the word terribilità. As a term applied by contemporaries to Michelangelo’s sculptures, it denotes the sheer awe felt at the magnificence of an object’s creation. The Gogotte fulfils this in every aspect. It is a colossus, comparable to the sculptures of great artists, yet it is shaped entirely by the hands of Nature.

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