Peanut Wood began as Arauncaria, a species of conifer tree in Australia during the Cretaceous period. Whenever the trees died, some would be washed down rivers and streams to the shallow, salty epicontinental sea that covered most of the Australian continent at the time. In this sea lived a particular kind of clam whose larvae mostly fed on these conifer trees. The larvae would be able to smell the tree in the water, swim over, and attach themselves all over the wood to eat. As they ate, they would create boreholes through the wood. In just weeks, they could excavate deep tunnels into the soggy tree.
The white markings in the wood would form once the wood drifted to the seafloor, full of holes. Billions of radiolarians, a type of plankton with silicon shells, would be living in the water above the wood. As they died, their shells would sink to the bottom and pile on top of the driftwood as a white sediment known as radiolarian ooze.
Layer after layer accumulated on top of and in the holes of the wood, dissolving into a super saturated silicate solution which would fill the cavities of the wood and slowly replace the soggy wood tissue. Once all of the organic material was replaced, the conifer tree would have become a fossil.
This box was created by master stone cutter and expert lapidary artist, Konstantin Libman, in his studio in St. Petersburg. The interior of the box is lined with Spanish Cedar and the lid is fitted with two Gold-plated brass hinges. The sides and bottom are made of black Dolerite which contains flecks of glass creating a glimmering effect and finished with felt feet. A Spanish Cedar presentation box is included to hold the Peanut Wood Box.
