18th century Porphyry & Ormolu Paperweight

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About the Item

A magnificent desk top ornament of rectangular form the solid porphyry base with two pin cushions with green silk velvet covers within ormolu fielded mounts, a central gilt metal handle with carved foliage. Porphyry has always been highly prized throughout the world. It was first mined and quarried from the only known source, Mount Porphyrites in Egypt, in the 4th-5th centuries BC. The extreme density of the stone allows for a perfectly smooth surface when polished and the actual carving requires a great degree of skill and dexterity. The term ‘Porphyry’ is Greek in origin and means ‘purple.’ As purple was the colour of royalty, it was a prized material for use in monuments and architectural elements in Imperial Rome. In around 30BC, the Romans conquered Egypt and took over the quarries. Due to the colour of the stone and similarity to the Murex dye, it was adopted as the Imperial stone and used throughout the Roman world on Imperial property and tombs. The renaissance saw the revival of the stone, particularly in Venice, where Porphyry columns were cut into discs and used to decorate walls and floors, set within mosaics. In around 1555, the Florentine Francesco Tadda revived the technique of carving and polishing the stone into accomplished forms, such as the fountain basin for the courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchia. With such a wealth of historic and prestigious symbolism, the French Kings were keen to decorate their palaces with the stone. Thus, it was again revived and carved in French designs. In 1731, porphyritic rock was unearthed in Ãlvdalen, Sweden. The valley of Ãlvdalen and its bordering parishes appear to be the only serious European mining source for Porphyry during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. A Porphyry seam was discovered there in 1731; in 1785 Councillor Nils Adam Bielke showed samples of the stone to Gustaf III, who was impressed and wanted to decorate the Haga Palace with Porphyry. The works were officially opened in 1788 by a privately run group of governors and industrialists with the aim of producing Porphyry objects. Eric Hagström, its first manager, introduced new mining techniques under the direction of Bielke and within a few years there were three grinding mills with water driven machines. Despite the quality of its productions, the privately run business suffered financial difficulties and thus in 1818 the works were acquired by Charles XIV, the first Swedish Bernadotte King with the intention of introducing the splendours of the French Empire style into Sweden. Decorative objects such as vases and urns were also often given as diplomatic presents to important figures within European and Russian society, which was most likely the case with this exceptionally grand piece. Distinguished by its speckled appearance, the Porphyry at Ãlvdalen was categorised into at least 22 different types, the present example is most probably a type known as Blyberg, so named after the parish in which it was mined. An inventory made at the beginning of the 1800's by the Mining Intendance at Stockholm described two as granitelle while the others were named after the Ãlvdalen parishes, from where they were quarried. In 1857 Charles XIV, son Oscar I sold the Ãlvdalen works to a local businessman but ten years later a fire caused devastation and thereafter production was sporadic and limited. More recently in 1988 King Carl XVI Gustaf opened the Ãlvdalen Porphyry Museum and the reconstructed Western grinding-mill at Porfyrgarden ( the Porphyry Mansion ) in Näset. Swedish Porphyry comes in several colours, including green and earthen brown.

Dimensions:
Height: 3 in (7.62 cm)Width: 12.5 in (31.75 cm)Depth: 4 in (10.16 cm)
Style:
Neoclassical (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Bronze,Porphyry,Gilt,Polished
Place of Origin:
Sweden
Period:
Late 18th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1790
Condition:
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU120424094933

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