𓄒

Petrified wood, quite literally “wood turned to stone,” is created when the structure of a tree is slowly replaced by minerals, preserving it in stunning three-dimensional detail. Unlike most fossil plants, which survive only as impressions, each piece of petrified wood retains the intricate architecture of the original, with colors and patterns shaped by the tree’s lifetime, the conditions of its burial, and the final polish that reveals its beauty.

Anatomical model of goat X

hercules conquering cerberus, engraved rock crystal; overall: 12.7 x 15.9 cm; attributed to annibale fontana, italian c. 1500-84.

Edmonde Guy by G. L. Manuel Frères, 1927

Beastly: A New History of Animals and Us

15,000-18,000 BC

scythes and detail