Morton Gneiss Plate

Morton Gneiss Plate

Canadian Shield, Minnesota River Valley, Southwestern Minnesota, USA

The large rectangular plate having grey pink and black medium to coarse-grained biotite-quartz-plagioclasse gneiss, with bright polished surface, measuring 68 ½ x 48 ¼ inches.

The world’s oldest known rocks come from the Canadian Shield area of North America. Among the most ancient is the present material, Morton Gneiss, dated at approximately 3.5 billion years old. It is believed to be a piece of Earth’s first planetary crust. The swirls and layers result from metamorphism incurred when the original volcanic rock was buried to tremendous depths.

PROVENANCE

Phillips Auction New York, June 3, 1995 (lot 81)

Private Florida collection from 1995 till the present