Unknown

18th Century Italian Pink Marble Urn with lid and bronze mounts

18th Century

ANTIQUE ITALIAN PORPRHYRY MORTAR Rome, 16th/17th Century Porphyry 19 x 23 x 23 cm 7 1/2 x 9 1/4 x 9 1/4 in Provenance: Sotheby Parke Bernet Florence, 21 October 1976, page 36, lot 5...

LARGE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE MARBLE CAPITAL Florence, 15th/16th Century marble 38 x 47 x 47 cm 15 x 18 1/2 x 18 1/2 in

Unusual 14th Century Italian marble mortar with animals depicted on the sides

BRECCIA FRAGMENT PLINTH Italy, 18th Century Breccia medicea 55 x d 25 cm 21 3/4 x d 9 3/4 in

A magnificent and monumentally scaled Italian early 19th century solid Porphyry and ormolu urn, circa 1810. The most impressive urn is raised by a circular base with a fine stepped and mottled border. At the center is an impressive and most decorative reeded design below the smooth elegantly curved body with richly sculpted scrolled handles at each side. Above the curved neck is the removable lid also decorated with a beautiful reeded design, mottled band, and centered by a striking ormolu acorn finial. All original gilt. Porphyry was Imperial Rome’s most prestigious stone for columns, vases, and other objects. The word “porphyry” comes from the Latin word for purple, which was the color of nobility to the Romans. Porphyry is considered the Imperial Stone of the Roman Empire. In the year 18 AD, the Roman Legionnaire Caius Cominius discovered a beautiful purple stone in the eastern desert of Egypt. It was a deep purple color with flecks of larger white crystals and was perfect for carving. This porphyry quickly became the most prestigious stone for the elite of Rome and Byzantium. For centuries the Romans quarried this treasured stone...

A stunning and impressive French 19th century Louis XVI st. marble and ormolu lidded urn. The urn is raised on a circular base decorated with acanthus leaves and an ormolu band above...

A spectacular French 19th century Louis XVI st. pink granite and ormolu lidded urn. The urn is raised by a square ormolu base with a fine mottled border, foliate designs and a most d...

An exceptional Italian 19th century Brèche Violette marble lidded urn. The urn is raised by an elegant circular mottled socle shaped pedestal suppor...