Doe and Hope

Description

The attractively formed cave formation specimen standing at over two feet tall in milky white limestone deposits showing attractive formations formed over thousands of years.

In good overall condition she has been given a light clean. When she was removed from the caves in China in the late twentieth century she was obviously given a polished cut bottom so she is free standing but we would strongly recommend supporting the structure if wanting to display in this way. Provenance wise we can provide a copy of the export document from The People’s Republic of China of January 2001 to accompany the sale if so desired.

Stalagmites, some of the most familiar cave formations, are best known as upward-growing, massive calcite mounds deposited from drip water. The largest known stalagmite in the world is 62.2 metres (204 ft) high and is located in the cave of Cueva Martin Infierno, Cuba.

It can take a very long time for most to form, they usually grow anywhere between a quarter-inch and an inch every century with some over 190,000 years old. As an average growth rate of ½ an inch for every 100 years, this makes this particular specimen (very approximately) 2,850 years old, so it would have started to form at around the time of 700-800 BC when such goings on as the Founding of Rome and the first recorded Olympic games were happening above ground.

The predominance of limestone gives many parts of this region of China a spectacular type of landscape known as karst, in which pinnacles and spires, caves and caverns, sinkholes, and subterranean streams abound. Picturesque rocky hills, spires of grotesque proportions, and strangely shaped caves with all types of stalactites and stalagmites are found in many parts of this region.

Nature’s own great sculptural masterpiece, this crystal castle proves a sublime country house conversation piece that will never tire of being handled and will certainly never become humdrum.