Carlton Hobbs: Mahogany Turtle Stone

The striking tabletop of the present piece is constructed from a section of a septarian nodule, a type of concretion, created when pores in a mass of sedimentary rock are filled in with jelly-like mineral deposits before hardening in a spherical or ovoid form. The nuclei of these concretions are often fossils dating from the Cretaceous period (50-70 million years ago). Septeria is the name given to the angular internal cavities, deriving from the Latin septum, meaning "partition".

The concretions are often reddish or golden in color, and because of the radiating design made by the internal cracks, are colloquially referred to as "turtle stones". Septarian nodules have been found to be as large as 9 feet in diameter, as in the case of the Moeraki Boulders of New Zealand. Smaller examples were found in the Oxford and Kimmeridge Clays along the Wessex Coast of England. It is likely that the present tabletop was made using a septarian nodule from this area.

While the "turtle stone" top is certainly the focus of the table, reminding one of radical modern art, the base is splendid in its own right. Derived from designs for early Roman bronze candelabra, this masculine and powerful design is a particularly suitable vehicle to display the superb example of a Cretaceous period specimen.

A related table was sold by Christie's London 15 September 2005. It has a similar septarian nodule top and its classical base shares the same fluting found on the present table stem.