From the Paleoproterozoic (2.5 to 1.6 billion years ago), the banded layers of hematite, jasper and chatoyant Tiger-eye cut to and polished.
20 x 12in. (51 x 30.5 x 0.8cm.)

Specified lots are being stored at Crozier Park Royal (details below) or will be removed from Christie’s, 8 King Street, London, SW1Y 6QT by 5.00pm on the day of the sale. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. If the lot has been transferred to Crozier Park Royal, it will be available for collection from 12.00pm on the second business day following the sale. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Crozier Park Royal. All collections from Crozier Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s, 8 King Street, it will be available for collection on any working day (not weekends) from 9.00am to 5.00pm
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Lot Essay

As one of the earliest fossilized forms of life, a mystery still surrounds the creation of Tiger Iron almost 2 billion years ago — during a hostile era when the newly formed continents were barren and life was confined to the seas. Scientists have suggested that it is a banded iron formation (layered sediments caused by photosynthetic cyanobacteria) or a Stromatolite (layers of algae), or even both. Simple photosynthesising life forms such as these dominated the first two billion years of life on Earth, and were probably the source of the Oxygen in the atmosphere.