OLDER THAN ANTIQUE: Home Furnishings Made of Prehistoric Materials

by Vanessa Velasco
Photos by Humprey Cogay

(published in Manila Bulletin, 4 October 2008)



This piece of petrified wood from Oregon is one part wood and one part stone.

"You have to look closely to behold its beauty," the curator said as he held a magnifying glass over what seemed like a collection of colorful stones. And in looking closely, you can actually see an intermingling of colors, images and textures that evokes a mélange of emotions, as any piece of art would. But in these exceptional pieces, the emotion was mostly of awe – for there we were, gazing upon pieces of large stones that were once a trunk of a tree or a bone of a dinosaur that lived millions of years ago, whose lines, textures and colors were painted not by human hands, but by the earth and its elements.

This was part of a collection that Larry Gotuaco acquired from different countries in a span of ten years. It was an intriguing assortment of ammonite fossils, petrified wood and dinosaur bones – acquired from different parts of the world, and brought together to find their place in the home of the Gotuacos in Makati Bel Air.



Larry and Pat Gotuaco in their home in Makati Bel Air.


Fossils as Furniture

The fossils donned different colors, shapes and sizes – and can make an extraordinary display in every home. Some can even be turned into furniture since they are, in reality, wood, shells and stones, which are common materials that we use in furnishing our houses. The only difference is that these materials have been in existence millions of years ago. And their unique shapes and colors were not fashioned by any interior designer or craftsmen, but were carved by the elements of this planet.

The twirl of the ammonites' shell has caught the interest of some interior designers. Larger ammonite fossils – colored blue, pinkish gray or silver – can be turned into lamps; while the smaller ones that are about the size of a fist can be turned into ash trays. The pieces of petrified wood make a great display in one's living room, and a coffee table can even be made out of cross-section slices of a 230-million-year-old tree trunks. And if you are adventurous enough, you can even have a large piece of dinosaur poop for a small stool which you can place in your veranda or living room.


In their dining hall, the side table is lined with petrified wood from Burma.


Petrified wood from Burma has an opaque white color due to the silicon dioxide in Burmese soil.


A table made of different petrified wood trunks from Madagascar.

Mr. Gotuaco explained that the distinctive colors of the fossils were produced through the chemical interactions of minerals in the soil and groundwater where the fossils were buried for millions of years. The vivid red, orange and yellow colors of the Arizona tree trunks are by-products of iron oxides in the region. Wood found in Myanmar are colored with an opaque white due to silicon dioxide, while those in Indonesia are likely to be black because of the high level of carbon and manganese in Indonesian soil. Some ammonite fossils actually look like metal because they have been filled with pyrite, which gave them their silvery metallic look.

The shapes of the wood, on the other hand, are fashioned by the wind. The ones found in Argentina have a smooth outer layer because they have been exposed to coastal winds, while wood dug up from Nevada has distinctive waves due to hot desert winds that may have deformed the tree trunks.


Wood found in Nevada shows distinctive waves and a peculiar shape due to the winds that may have deformed the tree trunk.


You can still see the rings of the tree from this piece of petrified wood from Oregon.

The collector's items

Mr. Gotuaco is no paleontologist, he said. "I am an insurance person," he chuckled, "but I have been a collector practically all my life." He started his hobby of collecting when he was in his thirties when his doctor, concerned about his rising blood pressure at such an early age, advised him to take up a hobby that would give him the relaxation he needs.

He started by collecting seashells from the different shores in the Philippines. "Seashells were in abundance in the country," he said, "and I was attracted to the different shapes and colors that I found in Philippine shorelines." After twenty years of collecting seashells, he shifted to collecting antique 14th century china ceramics excavated from the earth's different continents. He even co-authored a coffee table book with Rita Tan and Allison Diem featuring an assortment of 14th century blue and white china wares found in the Philippines. Now he found a passion for fossils.

Most of his collections were bought from trade shows, one of the largest being in Tucson Arizona where over 5,000 traders come together to sell their wares. "There are traders from France, Africa, and even Russia," he recounted, "they bring together their specialties in one large trade show. And that's where I get most of my collections."


His Encounter with Fossils

Mr. Gotuaco first heard of the term "Jurassic" in 1993 when he watched the movie Jurassic Park. He became interested in the reality of dinosaurs and how they lived and roamed the earth for 150 million years before they became extinct. A few years later, he saw a piece of petrified wood that was over 200 million years old, and realized that this was once a tree that lived with the early dinosaurs. This started his infatuation with dinosaur bones and petrified wood.

His fascination with fossils has stirred in him the desire to share his knowledge and passion about prehistoric earth. So he decided to exhibit part of his collection at the Ayala Museum. He finds joy in conducting tours for kids and adults alike, to show them the beauty hidden in each piece of stone. "I wanted to bring these fossils here so young people can get to see and touch them, particularly those who do not get to travel," he said.


Different species of petrified wood form part of the Gotuacos' collection.


The Gotuacos' collection of petrified wood excavated from different parts of the Philippines.

The driving force of his passion

Larry Gotuaco's delight for these fossils stem from a deep spirituality and belief in a Creator whose great artistry is embedded in the details of his collection. "The driving force of this passion is my belief in Christianity," he reveals. "I am convinced that God created all of these things through the evolution process, and allowed science to discover what He did and how He did it."

And as he held the magnifying lens over the fossils to show the tiny details of the interaction of colors and textures, one can actually see an intricate artwork in each square centimeter of a stone. It is undeniably a work of art, showing the great imagination of a Creator who put the elements together within a span of millions of years to create one intriguing work of art.